CIVIL servants across the area walked out on strike on Friday to protest against job cuts.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union walked out of central Government offices in protest at more than 100,000 job cuts, which are expected to go nationwide after Chancellor Gordon Brown announced plans to slash the size of the civil service.

Civil servants working for the Ministry of Defence at Wilton Park in Beaconsfield and RAF High Wycombe at Naphill took part in the strike.

The action comes amid uncertainty over the fate of 2,000 civilian jobs at Strike Command at Naphill.

Jim Williamson, branch secretary of PCS at the MoD in High Wycombe, said: "The message of our campaign is that the Government cannot arbitrarily cut staff without it having a negative impact on local public services as well as the local economy.

"The people the Government are seeking to axe are not bowler-hatted Sir Humphreys based in Whitehall or faceless bureaucrats. They provide vital services that touch everybody's lives from cradle to grave.

"They work as a team delivering the things we take for granted, such as your passport, child benefit, and amongst our branch members locally, supporting the military in the defence and security of this country."

He added: "Early in the budget this year, Gordon Brown announced sweeping cuts to civil service numbers, 100,000 members of staff, which is about a fifth of the whole civil service.

"We do not feel the public services can sustain such a cut but we are also unhappy there has been no consultation and no discussion."

Staff at the two defence establishments are also threatened by the possible closure of both bases.

The Ministry of Defence is considering closing RAF Strike Command, with an announcement likely to be made in the new year.

A review, with recommendations, is due to be completed by the end of the month.

The MoD has also said it wants to close Wilton Park in Beaconsfield and relocate the Defence School of Languages.