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A chaotic 'Brexodus' of civil servants is fleeing the department runing Brexit , we can reveal.

Nearly a quarter – 159 – have quit in the last six months alone as the country teeters toward a no-deal exit.

Last night one worker told us: “To say it’s a revolving door is an under-statement. It’s almost pointless learning people’s names because they’re out of here so quickly.”

The Department for Exiting the EU should have 700 staff. But a total of 516 staff left from its creation in July 2016 to last December.

That’s up from 357 gone by June 2018 and 124 at August 2017, Freedom of Information figures show. The average age of workers is now just 29 – in the department meant to negotiate with experienced EU rivals.

(Image: REUTERS) (Image: PA)

Another civil servant said: “Morale’s been low. Obviously, it’s stressful and as the deadline has got closer things have got worse.

“Things have picked up now because the end is in sight. But it won’t magically stop after Brexit. There’ll be lots of work to do make sure the transition is smooth

MP Jo Stevens said: ”Chaos reigns at DExEU. How can you build a whole new relationship with the EU when staff are leaving left, right and centre?

“The most experienced people are fed up and leaving so young and inexperienced staffers are being charged with handling the most delicate and complex issue facing the UK for generations. It’s not just absurd, it’s unacceptable.”

(Image: Reuters)

DExEU is led by Stephen Barclay following the resignations of David Davis and Dominic Raab.

A spokesman said: “Over three quarters of staff said they were happy at work in the latest survey.

“Turnover reflects the nature of DExEU, set up as a time-limited department so most staff have fixed term contracts or are on loans from other departments. A significant number are from talent programmes on short postings.”