The letter from Rees Mogg highlighted that many government departments have empty desks despite the repeated calls for civil servants, particularly by the Prime Minister in January when lockdown restrictions were being lifted, to ‘set an example’ by returning to the office.

Rees Mogg said: ‘Now that we are learning to live with Covid-19 and have lifted all legal restrictions in England, we must continue to accelerate the return of civil servants to office buildings to realise the benefits of face-to-face, collaborative working and the wider benefits for the economy.’

First reported in the Telegraph, Rees Mogg wrote to cabinet ministers about the issue last month asking them to record the number of employees coming into the office every fortnight with the intention to publish the figures.