A cross-party group of MPs has written to Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressing 'deep concern' over cuts to the UK's aid budget, warning the move will undermine the country's soft power and have 'dire consequences' for the world's poorest.
The letter, written by Labour MP Sarah Champion, chair of the international development committee, comes ahead of a potentially stormy debate on Foreign Office spending. Champion said cutting official development assistance (ODA) to fund increased defence spending is a 'false economy' that makes the UK less safe.
Last week, Starmer announced a generational increase in defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, paid for by slashing the aid budget from 0.5% to 0.3% of GDP. The decision prompted the resignation of Anneliese Dodds as international development minister.
Champion's letter, backed by two Conservative and two Liberal Democrat MPs, asks whether the cut will be implemented all at once or staggered, whether hotel costs for asylum seekers will still count as aid, and what the impact will be on Foreign Office staff numbers.
Wednesday's debate will not involve a vote, but backbench speeches are expected to highlight growing opposition, particularly among Labour MPs.
