Tory slash-and-burn policies will continue to wreak havoc on the Environment Agency even as the damage already done by cuts has been exposed, unions and campaigners warned yesterday.

Union GMB said it expected the government to push forward with its plans to axe 1,700 Environment Agency jobs after the floods have receded with a meeting slated for Thursday.

The agency put the 10 per cent cutback on hold after Tory PM David Cameron waded through flood-hit areas promising to throw all the money needed at the crisis.