Fury over ‘ethical disaster’ lower to worldwide assist to fund defence spending

MPs voiced their fury as Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper unveiled sweeping cuts to overseas aid in order to fund the biggest increase in defence spending since the Cold War

View 3 Images

Furious MPs have confronted Yvette Cooper after she unveiled huge cuts to international aid to fund a massive increase in defence spending.

The Foreign Secretary announced funding will be pulled from projects in Afghanistan, Somalia and Yemen as she admitted having to make “hard choices and unavoidable trade-offs”. Ms Cooper said conflict zones including Ukraine, Palestine, Sudan and Lebanon would be prioritised.

Ms Cooper said the step was necessary in order to fund the biggest rise in defence spending since the Cold War.

Ms Cooper told the Commons: “Allies such as Germany, France and Sweden have made similar choices and this for us this not an ideological step. It is a difficult choice in the face of international threats.”

READ MORE: Sadiq Khan breaks silence on Tory’s vile attack and says Hindus and Jews may be nextREAD MORE: Hundreds of firms including famous brands named and shamed for underpaying staff – full list

The UK’s overseas budget is being slashed from 0.5% to 0.3% of gross national income (GNI) by 2027 – a move expected to slice over £6billion from spending. It had previously stood at 0.7% for more than a decade. The Foreign Secretary said: “As the Prime Minister and the Chancellor have confirmed it is our intention to return to 0.7% when the fiscal circumstances allow.”

The announcement includes an £874million cut to bilateral aid to Africa by 2028 – a 56% cut. There will also be no funding for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), although Ms Cooper said support to tackle polio would continue in other ways.

The decision to target overseas aid sparked anger, with critics arguing it will undermine the UK’s global influence and open the door for Russia and China to step in. Labour MP Sarah Champion, who chairs the International Development Committee, warned: “These cuts do not aid our defence. They make the whole world more vulnerable.”

And Lib Dem Monica Harding confronted the Foreign Secretary, saying: “Something has gone badly wrong when a Labour government has cut the foreign aid budget deeper than Donald Trump or the last Conservative government. This is a shameful moment.

“Not only a moral catastrophe, but strategically illiterate.” And the SNP’s Chris Law said: “In short, these are death sentence cuts.”

Under the changes, MPs were told, women and girls will be prioritised – as will projects to keep education in place in conflict zones.

Ms Cooper insisted the UK will remain at the forefront of international action on climate change and nature loss. There will be a new focus on unlocking private investment, she said.

The Foreign Secretary vowed that countries facing the worst humanitarian need will be proritised. This will include £1.4billion a year in the world’s most conflict-affected states – with 70% of geographical support going to such countries.

Ms Cooper said Ukraine, Sudan, Palestine and Lebanon will have funding fully protected. But she went on: “That does mean that direct bilateral aid funding for other countries will be reduced.

“We’ve taken the decision to withdraw from traditional bilateral funding for G20 countries. Countries like Yemen, Somalia and Afghanistan will remain humanitarian priorities. They will see direct grant reductions, although we will continue to support multilateral programs which operate in those countries.

“Countries like Pakistan and Mozambique will remain development priorities, but their direct grant funding will be significantly reduced.” She announced an £11million increase in funding to the BBC World Service to tackle disinformation.

The Foreign Secretary stated: “Allocating a reduced budget inevitably leads to hard choices and unavoidable trade-offs. So we’re focusing aid on the people and places that need it most, and we will still be a major player and expect to be the fifth biggest funder in the world.

“And we will still use international leadership, such as our 2027 G20 presidency, to shape the global agenda for development.”

Ms Cooper said the Government would be focusing on working with bodies like Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, expected to save 1.3million lives. Adrian Lovett, UK Executive Director of the ONE Campaign, said: “These choices will leave millions without access to basic healthcare, education and urgent humanitarian support, and risk a resurgence of deadly diseases we’ve spent decades trying to fight.

“While FCDO officials have clearly worked to shield some priorities, they have been handed an impossible task.

“You simply cannot cut 40% from the aid budget without devastating consequences, and that will now play out in the world’s poorest countries.”

Green MP Dr Ellie Chowns, who has worked in international development and lived in war zones, said: “Cutting international aid is a false economy – and one which puts Britain’s security at greater risk.

“The UK’s defence does not exist in isolation from global security. You cannot make Britain safer by making the rest of the world more unstable.”