The Latest Breaking News from Whitehall

Exclusive: Whitehall sources say use of Pava to incapacitate children is under consideration amid sharp rise in violence

It has reportedly hired more than a dozen former Whitehall staffers as it prepares for a potential election victory

By any Whitehall standard, the Ministry of Defence is a weird place. I am not just referring to its forbidding architectural lines, partly Orwell’s 1984 Ministry of Truth and Harry Potter’s Hogwarts, but its very nature. It is a hybrid, a frontline Whitehall ministry and an active military headquarters.

While local shops in countries such as France are protected, the UK is crippled by lax planning laws and sky-high business rates, says Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins

Exclusive: Leaked documents show plans for senior managers to decide which courses can be attended in work hours

Two reports by influential think tanks have been critical of efforts to address regional inequalities.

It is nothing short of disastrous for those whose lives are supported by UK aid, charity says

The civil service has fewer than half the number of data and technology professionals it needs, MPs have said.

The Government added to external pressures on the development programme with political turbulence, budget reductions and Brexit, a report said.