Civil service cuts will leave Whitehall unable to cope with Brexit workload

Boris Johnson's planned cuts will worsen delays on passports and driving licences, union warns

Boris Johnson's plans to slash the number of civil servants by 91,000 - around 20% - within three years, will leave Whitehall unable to handle the huge extra workload caused by Brexit, independent experts and unions have warned the government.

They say such a reduction would leave the state too small to cope with the added responsibilities taken on by officials in Whitehall since the UK left the EU, including in areas of trade, agriculture, immigration and business regulation.