Garry Graham, Prospect’s deputy general secretary, said:

“The government knows a No Deal Brexit would be catastrophic for jobs and the economy. It is deeply irresponsible that they refuse to rule out this disastrous option and instead continue to allocate vast amounts of money for No Deal planning.

“The spending which has been announced is only a fraction of the total amount effectively being spent as more and more resources, both people and money, from  across the civil service get sucked either into DExEU, or into Brexit-related functions within other departments.

“Our analysis of the staff survey and of HSE stats shows that civil servants are now the most stressed workers in the country and it is getting worse. Austerity has meant increasing workloads without a corresponding increase in wages, and when you pile all the extra work from Brexit on top of that, you end up where we are – with a civil service which is at breaking point.

“The government must stop pretending that No Deal is an acceptable option. What we need is for the government to give workers and the country some clarity, and if it can’t get its deal through parliament then it has to give the public another vote, with the option to Remain on the ballot.”