Britain’s Department for Exiting the European Union has only existed for 14 months but already more than 20 per cent of its staff have left.
According to the Government’s response to a freedom of information request submitted by Bloomberg, as of 18 August, 124 employees had left the department since it was set up, leaving 482.
The high turnover could suggest that civil servants don’t enjoy working in the department, which is tasked with one of the Government's most challenging jobs in decades.
The department itself, however, pointed out that fewer than five of the people who had left had quit the civil service altogether, suggesting that some officials may just be passing through the department to gain valuable experience.
It said that a large majority of the changes were the “result of normal civil service rotation or the end of defined loan periods”.
Oliver Robbins announced that he would be leaving the department last Monday after a spate of reported rows with Brexit Secretary David Davis.
Government insiders claimed that Mr Davis had been left frozen out of decision making, and that there was no personal warmth between the two men.
Mr Robbins joined the Cabinet office as Theresa May’s EU adviser, which is a brand new role.
