As the new Government makes budget cuts, the Ministry of Justice has been warned to prepare for a £2 billion cut, from its annual £9 billion budget. It is predicted that 15,000 civil servants will lose their jobs. Prisons will have to close, and courts will be halted. The civil servants who will lose their jobs include staff responsible for supervising prisoners after their release. This will make maintaining current levels of public safety very difficult, and it is likely that re-offending will become a problem.

Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of the probation union Napo, said: "These cuts will lead to huge reductions in staff. As a consequence, individuals on probation will no longer be supervised properly.

Ann Beasley, the MoJ's director-general of finance, said that the majority of savings will have to be made within the first 12-24 months, and that this will result on job losses. MoJ is one of the first departments to agree the scale of cuts.

Mark Serwotka, the PCS general-secretary, said: "This paints a devastating picture of the true scale of the cuts being imposed upon departments by this coalition government. We'll take every opportunity to remind the government and the public that there is an alternative and that these politically-motivated cuts are entirely avoidable.

"This is one of the first indications of the true scale of the cuts being imposed upon departments by this coalition government, and it paints a devastating picture.

"It is clear to us that the civil service will simply not be able to cope. We will take every opportunity to remind the government and the public that there is an alternative and these politically-motivated cuts are entirely avoidable."