Government officials insist that most courts are operating as normal today despite mass industrial action by public sector workers.

Thousands of PCS members have staged a one-day walkout which the union claims is the ‘best supported strike we’ve ever had’.

The tranquility of Lincoln’s Inn Fields in central London was disturbed by noisy strikers from various unions who gathered for a march on Westminster.

The PCS also held its own rallies, marches and picnics across England and Wales in protest at government plans to cut pensions.

But a spokesman for HM Courts and Tribunals Service said the industrial action is having little impact on court operations.

‘The majority of courts and tribunals are sitting as planned and services are being maintained,’ he said.

‘While there has been some reduction in services, HMCTS has robust contingency plans in place which will prioritise the delivery of our most essential services, these include custody cases and urgent family cases.’

The union insisted that crown, county and magistrates’ courts were being disrupted as workers made their feelings clear.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: ‘The government made a lot of the fact that after the strike ballot it was clear civil servants didn’t support strike action.

‘But today we can see that they have voted with their feet and sent a clear message to the government that they will not tolerate these attacks on their hard-earned pensions rights and will fight the cuts that threaten to devastate our communities and jobs.’