Well, the only government labs that I'm aware of that I could work in are in defence, which I'd rather not do for ethical reasons. But thanks for pointing that option out, perhaps there are others. And interesting insight hunt_mat.
I'm coming to the end of my PhD in physics at a good UK university and am a bit unsure about what to do next. The main things I would like in a job are to enjoy the work, have a good enough salary not to worry about money (i.e. average salary or above) and work with people that I get on well...