MOD job cuts are "accident waiting to happen", claims union

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not sufficiently appreciate its developed vetting cleared staff, both to their and its own detriments, a union has warned.

Prospect's national secretary Steve Jary asserted that, with over 10,000 civil servants leaving the MOD in 2011 and a further 10,000 to be let go this year, the department's job cuts are "an accident waiting to happen".

He claimed that these civilian employees were necessary to manage the MOD's procurement programmes and support the Armed Forces, while also warning that these staff were being demoralised by unfair criticism from ministers and the media.

Mr Jary averred: "MOD is driving off a cliff, looking over its shoulder at a pack baying for civil service blood.

"Our members have had enough. Morale could not be lower."

Last year, a survey of Prospect members indicated that 82 per cent of MOD specialists would leave their posts immediately if they could afford to, which the union stated was due to the "vilification" that these security cleared staff members have experienced.