HEALTH service bosses stunned hundreds of workers yesterday by announcing without forewarning that their jobs will be transferred to a site operated by the private sector.

Public Health England (PHE) shocked 750 employees at its research laboratories at Porton Down in Wiltshire by announcing their transfer to Harlow in Essex — a site operated by Glaxo- SmithKline, where the government is investing £350 million.

Porton Down is best known as a military scientific research centre, but also houses PHE’s medical research facility.

There were no consultations about the transfer, which also affects a PHE facility in north London.

Unite regional officer Dorothy Fogg expressed “extreme disappointment” at the lack of consultation and demanded PHE “provide assurances to staff and recognise that many do not want to move to Harlow.”