Central government is doomed to preside over further disasters like the West Coast Main Line franchise and the collapse of the Borders Agency unless current attempts to modernise Whitehall are given a further overhaul, senior MPs have warned.

In a coruscating critique of the Coalition's embryonic civil service reform programme, MPs from the Public Administration Select Committee say the current Whitehall transformation plan is ‘bound to fail' amid growing distrust between ministers and officials.

Issued today following a year-long inquiry, the PASC report says the civil service exhibits the key characteristics of a failing organisation in which the leadership is in denial about how bad things are.

Entitled ‘Truth to Power: how civil service reform can succeed', the MPs argue confusion about who is ultimately accountable for delivering Whitehall policy has resulted in an atmosphere in which officials fail to give honest and complete reports to ministers.

In addition, the continued lack of key skills and expertise has been made worse by an unacceptably high level of churn of key officials, which is not compatible with good governance, the Committee finds.

Chairman of the PASC Bernard Jenkin said the report could be a ‘landmark in the history of the civil service'.

Mr Jenkin said the Committee found despite much successful change in civil service procurement and IT, the ‘overriding narrative is one of recurring discord between ministers and officials.

‘We recognise ministerial frustrations but also note that resistance to change and the tendency to resist decisions is an understandable reaction of officials who feel that the leadership of departments and of Whitehall as a whole is in disagreement,' Mr Jenkin added.

The PASC's central recommendation is for the establishment of an independent Commission to oversee the modernisation and repair of Whitehall.

Without it, Mr Jenkin warned, the public would face recurrent ‘shambles and disaster' - such as the West Coast Main Line fiasco and the collapse of the Borders Agency.

However, the trade union representing mandarins and top civil servants urged any future inquiry to be widened beyond Parliament.

Dave Penman, general secretary for the FDA union said:  ‘There appears to be no disagreement that reform of the civil service is required – ongoing reforms are essential to any major organisation, including the civil service.  Any proposed Commission should not prevent essential reforms from being made.'