A planned strike by members of the Public & Commercial Services working in the Home Office has been suspended after officials told the union there will be significant investment in the border force and passport service.

Officials at PCS argue the decision will mean more than 1,000 new jobs.

The strike would have included staff across the Home Office, including the UK Border Agency, the Identity & Passport Service and Criminal Records Bureau.

Government officials had earlier today threatened to seek a High Court injunction in order to prevent the strike.

In a significant development, the Home Office is now advertising 800 new permanent jobs at the borders - including posts at Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and other airports and ports across the UK - and will be recruiting 300 new jobs in the passport service.

The union says this is a welcome step towards recognition the Home Office has been “cracking” under the strain of “massive” job cuts - with long queues at airports, a backlog of 276,000 unresolved immigration and asylum cases.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “These new jobs are a welcome step towards a recognition that the Home Office has been cracking under the strain of massive job losses, and that the answer is not more cuts but more investment.”