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Junior DVLA staff have been warned their personal Twitter and Facebook accounts will be monitored to ensure they do not say anything to back Brexit .

It comes after Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood banned Civil Servants from sharing some Government papers with ministers campaigning to leave the EU.

But in an email seen by the Mirror, DVLA officials reminded staff that rules forcing Civil Servants to support the position of the government of the day also applies to them.

And the diktat, distributed to all DVLA workers from top brass to desk staff, says the restrictions include "use of social media by civil servants in both their official and personal capacity".

The move has sparked fury among Brexit -backing campaigners.

Ukip Leader Nigel Farage said he was "astonished" by the message, describing it as "draconian."

(Image: Reuters)

He said: "It is abhorrent anyway that ministries are being controlled in this fashion, it’s the sort of thing you’d expect from the Politburo during the Cold War.

"But to disseminate these sorts of veiled threats around thousands of ordinary men and women who happen to be employees in some way in the civil service is extraordinary.

"It’s created a culture of fear where people are now afraid of what they can say and do privately and on their personal social media."

A spokesperson for the DVLA said the email was communicating "standard procedure" and pointed out Civil Service guidance.

Ukip's leader in Wales, Nathan Gill, said employees at the DVLA's Swansea HQ are now "terrified" about what they can say or do in private for fear of losing their jobs.

He added: "It has no place in any democracy and I am deeply concerned that this must be exposed and must stop at once."