Push for civil servants to return to office backfires as DfE runs out of desks

Department for Education ordered workers to spend 80% of their time in the office leading to chaotic' conditions

Downing Street's demands that civil servants get back to the office has backfired for the Department for Education, where desk shortages have resulted in staff being sent home and others forced to work in chaotic" conditions.

Officials working in cramped corridors or sharing desks have led to protests from civil service unions to Nadhim Zahawi, the education secretary, who last month ordered an end to working from home after pressure from the efficiency minister Jacob Rees-Mogg.