Ministers planning to cut more than 10,000 civil service jobs

Exclusive: Sources say there is belief that service has become too big after growing during Brexit and pandemic years

Ministers are planning to cut more than 10,000 civil service jobs as Whitehall departments battle to stay within spending limits under a new government efficiency drive, the Guardian has learned.

Multiple sources said there was an acceptance that the civil service had become too big and unwieldy after expanding owing to the demands of Brexit and the Covid pandemic.