CIVILIAN jobs in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) are to be slashed by almost a third, a move that unions described as “devastating” yesterday.

The MoD’s civilian workforce will fall by almost 30 per cent to 41,000 in the next five years, with some services outsourced to private firms.

Civil servants’ union PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka warned that the cuts would force military staff to fill the gaps, which significantly undermines Tory claims to be committed to defence.