'We're being sacrificed. We are all in fear now'

One civil servant today spoke of an atmosphere of fear as news of the job cuts began to sink in.

Rob Bryson, 25, who works at the West End job centre in Wardour Street, has been a civil servant for three years. He said he was "disgusted".

"We all fear for our jobs now. Morale is already rock bottom in my office. Some people have been working there for 20 years and say it has never been as bad as this, not even under the Tories.

"Walk into any job centre and see the empty desks. We're already under huge pressure, and the service we are able to provide is just going to get worse. We are being sacrificed so the Government can score political points."

Mr Bryson predicted there would "definitely" be strikes, adding: "They'll have a real battle on their hands. They'll be sacking a quarter of us."

Support manager Claremont Williams, who has been at the Department of Work and Pensions for 20 years, added: "People are very sombre - nobody feels their job is safe."

But Priya Lakhani, who works in the Department of Health, took a different view. The 24-year-old said: "People across the civil service will be uneasy about the possibility their jobs could go. But if it's going to improve efficiency then it could mean better organisations."