PLANS to axe Foreign Office staff could lead to mistakes posing “life and death” risks, a parliamentary committee chair warned today.

Nearly 2,000 civil servants are expected to be made redundant at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) as the department seeks to slash its headcount by up to 25 per cent.

The cuts have sparked warnings from Commons international development committee chair Sarah Champion on the potential impact it could have on Britain’s ability to deliver overseas aid.

In a letter to Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, Ms Champion wrote: “There are inherent risks to losing these staff.

“Firstly, it reduces the ability of the UK to react fast to changing situations and respond to the needs of its international partners.

“Secondly, it risks making avoidable mistakes. Bad development assistance carries life and death risks to those it is designed to serve, and reputational risk to the UK government.”

PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote, whose union is representing staff threatened with redundancy, said last month that members had “seen no justification for these cuts” and had “yet to be told what work has been deemed disposable by management.”

Ms Champion warned that if the department fails to give a real reason for the plans, it will “likely to lead to an exodus of staff, deterioration in morale of remaining staff, and may breach the department’s obligations to its workforce.”

The letter raises a concern about the lack of any workforce plan, ministerial oversight and calls for an assessment of the staffing required to deliver the government’s priorities.

An FCDO spokesperson said that the government “must modernise our approach to reflect the changing global context.  

“This will be reflected in the changes the FCDO is planning over the next five years, including a reduction in headcount as we transition to a leaner, more agile workforce.

“These changes are a key step in our reform programme to ensure that the FCDO is more open, more strategic and more technologically enabled, to deliver maximum security and growth for the British people.”