Sick leave in the Whitehall blob is surging under Labour, analysis shows.
Absence rates jumped by up to nearly a fifth in major government departments last year.
Civil servants taking prolonged periods off over mental health issues was fuelling the rise, sources claimed, with tens of thousands of working days lost.
The Work and Pensions department, responsible for getting more people off sickness benefits and into work, was among those that recorded an increase in sickness rates of 19 per cent.
Of 12 departments that have published annual accounts so far for the 12 months to April, absence due to sickness increased at nine.
