CIVIL servants have reacted with fury after arch-Tory Jacob Rees-Mogg told them to “get back to work” following the lifting of lockdown regulations.

The instruction was contained in a letter to Civil Service chiefs telling them to order thousands of public servants working from home to return to their offices.

Britain has about 440,000 civil servants with an estimated 75 per cent still working from home.

Mr Rees-Mogg, the government’s efficiency minister, said that civil servants should return to their offices “to realise the benefits of face-to-face collaborative working and the wider benefits for the economy.

“To deliver this, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Steve Barclay, and I, urge you to issue a clear message to civil servants in your department to ensure a rapid return to the office.”

Reports of the letter included comments from unnamed government sources accusing home-based civil servants of not working hard enough and saying “a silent majority of people aren’t pulling their weight.”

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “These comments from Jacob Rees-Mogg and his Conservative colleagues are a slap in the face to PCS members who worked tirelessly and who made immense sacrifices during the pandemic. 

“For over two years, often under the government’s own instruction, many of our members have demonstrated that they can do their job from home. The suggestion that they’ve been ‘sitting at home’ is deeply insulting. 

“The government rightly lauded our members when it mattered. Now they seek to denigrate and offend them. 

“Instead, they should embrace the benefits of hybrid working and make good on their promise to build back better.”

Dave Penman, general secretary of senior civil servants’ union the First Division Association, accused Cabinet ministers of being “Luddites.” 

“The private sector has embraced hybrid working, recognising the efficiencies it delivers and competitive edge it gives to employers in a tight labour market,” he said.

“Meanwhile, the Luddites in Cabinet insist on micro-managing the Civil Service, which will only deter good people from joining while simultaneously demotivating those already there.”