civil servant

Eight civil servants are working on the project, but their hands are tied while they wait to hear if the government still wants to go ahead with it.

The RAF civil servant recalls having a "really good start" in the race, gaining height alongside two vultures.

The BBC has been told the book was signed off by the cabinet secretary – the UK's most senior civil servant - as having complied with the "Radcliffe Rules" around handling sensitive government information responsibly.

But he has resisted, in public at least, setting a target for how many civil servants' jobs would be lost.

As a senior civil servant with experience overseeing national security, "it's hard to imagine a decision maker better placed to form his own view", he told the court.