civil servant

The briefing, written by senior civil servant Matthew Rycroft is marked R, understood to mean restricted.

Its day-to-day operations had been run by aides in their 20s who every six weeks held a popular drinks reception at a pub attended by young civil servants, policy researchers and journalists.

Rounds of layoffs, the deferred-resignation plan and other voluntary departure programs, including an early-retirement push, slashed the number of civil servants, impeded work at government sites nationwide and reduced services that Americans rely on.

Smoking a cigarette in a shaded doorway not far from the church, a 33-year-old civil servant, who gave her name as Aurélie, spoke with undisguised bitterness.

The Conservatives will set out proposals later on cutting public spending on welfare, aid and civil servants which the shadow chancellor will say would save £47bn over five years.