The chief executive of the Met Office has stood down with immediate effect.

Rob Varley is being replaced on a temporary basis by his deputy, Nick Jobling, who is also finance director.

The BBC understands that Mr Varley left following an intervention by the most senior civil servant at the Department for Business, Energy and Industry.

This related to concerns about issues of “governance and management controls” at the public body, which employs about 1,500 staff.

In a short statement, the Met Office said its operations and services were wholly unaffected by the decision.

Mr Varley, who began his career as a weather forecaster, had been chief executive since 2014, having first joined the organisation in 2007.