More than 20,000 tax officers are holding lightning walkouts against plans to bring in private companies to do their work. Video by Union News.

PCS members who work in call centres and enquiry offices across the UK stage a series of short strikes and are planning more for 31 January — the deadline for self-assessment returns and a key date in HMRC’s diary.

The Coalition government has appointed two private companies, Sitel and Teleperformance, have been to run call handling trials at HMRC tax credit contact centres in Lillyhall in Cumbria and Bathgate in Scotland.