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Penny Mordaunt under fire for pledging to spend UK foreign aid in 'national interest' not just to help world's poorest | Penny Mordaunt under fire for pledging to spend UK foreign aid in 'national interest' not just to help world's poorest |
(about 17 hours later) | |
A vow to spend Britain’s foreign aid in “the national interest”, rather than simply to help the world’s poorest people, has triggered criticism of the International Development Secretary. | A vow to spend Britain’s foreign aid in “the national interest”, rather than simply to help the world’s poorest people, has triggered criticism of the International Development Secretary. |
Penny Mordaunt came under fire after pledging to allocate her £13bn overseas aid budget on “tackling the issues that matter most to the British people”. | Penny Mordaunt came under fire after pledging to allocate her £13bn overseas aid budget on “tackling the issues that matter most to the British people”. |
Such projects could include preventing plastics polluting the oceans and the illegal wildlife trade – which “the British public care about passionately”, she said. | Such projects could include preventing plastics polluting the oceans and the illegal wildlife trade – which “the British public care about passionately”, she said. |
Labour warned immediately that the strategy risked weakening support for aid spending, if the public no longer believed it was helping “to make the world fairer”. | |
And the Liberal Democrats accused Ms Mordant of following in the footsteps of her ousted predecessor, Priti Patel, by “pursuing pathetic headlines in the right-wing press”. | And the Liberal Democrats accused Ms Mordant of following in the footsteps of her ousted predecessor, Priti Patel, by “pursuing pathetic headlines in the right-wing press”. |
Doubts were also raised about the legality, under international rules, of diverting aid cash to pursue the donor’s interests – rather than those of the recipient countries. | Doubts were also raised about the legality, under international rules, of diverting aid cash to pursue the donor’s interests – rather than those of the recipient countries. |
Kate Osamor, Labour’s Shadow International Development Secretary, said: “When the British public get behind aid, they do so because it's the right thing to do - not because it's expedient. | |
“Frankly, the Tories' idea that we should stop using aid to reduce poverty and use it only for short-sighted national interest is an insult to the generosity and intelligence of the millions of British people who donate their time and money each year to make the world fairer.” | |
Baroness Shas Sheehan, for the Lib Dems, said: “It’s disappointing to see Penny Mordaunt following in Priti Patel’s footsteps by making unnecessary and, frankly, inaccurate claims about our foreign aid budget. | Baroness Shas Sheehan, for the Lib Dems, said: “It’s disappointing to see Penny Mordaunt following in Priti Patel’s footsteps by making unnecessary and, frankly, inaccurate claims about our foreign aid budget. |
“Our Department for International Development has a proud history of delivering life-changing programmes to the poorest people in the world. The Secretary of State should be defending that record.” | “Our Department for International Development has a proud history of delivering life-changing programmes to the poorest people in the world. The Secretary of State should be defending that record.” |
Ms Mordaunt, in an article for The Daily Telegraph, said the UK would stop paying for aid projects that developing countries could fund themselves, by “putting their hands in their pockets” – even if they were “achieving good things”. | Ms Mordaunt, in an article for The Daily Telegraph, said the UK would stop paying for aid projects that developing countries could fund themselves, by “putting their hands in their pockets” – even if they were “achieving good things”. |
The minister said a growing number of investments by other government departments would “count towards our 0.7 per cent of GDP aid spending target”. | The minister said a growing number of investments by other government departments would “count towards our 0.7 per cent of GDP aid spending target”. |
And – like Ms Patel, who was forced to resign in October - she argued her department should pursue “a bold new Brexit-ready proposition to boost trade and investment with developing countries”. | And – like Ms Patel, who was forced to resign in October - she argued her department should pursue “a bold new Brexit-ready proposition to boost trade and investment with developing countries”. |
Most controversially, explaining her plan for aid spending in “the national interest”, Ms Mordaunt pointed to its work to develop new diagnostic tests used by the NHS. | Most controversially, explaining her plan for aid spending in “the national interest”, Ms Mordaunt pointed to its work to develop new diagnostic tests used by the NHS. |
“I will ensure that our aid spend directly contributes to tackling the issues that matter most to the British people,” she wrote. | “I will ensure that our aid spend directly contributes to tackling the issues that matter most to the British people,” she wrote. |
“You will soon see the fruits of work between DFID [the Department for International Development] and Defra [the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs] to tackle plastics polluting the oceans and to prevent the illegal wildlife trade, both issues the British public care about passionately.” | “You will soon see the fruits of work between DFID [the Department for International Development] and Defra [the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs] to tackle plastics polluting the oceans and to prevent the illegal wildlife trade, both issues the British public care about passionately.” |
She added, speaking to the BBC: “For me, the bar we need to set on aid spending is not just “are we spending this money well” but “could we spend it better in the national interest” - and I think we do need to address that issue head on.” | She added, speaking to the BBC: “For me, the bar we need to set on aid spending is not just “are we spending this money well” but “could we spend it better in the national interest” - and I think we do need to address that issue head on.” |
In the coming weeks, Ms Mordaunt is expected to flesh out her plans for aid, arguing it is necessary for Britain's security and prosperity- but targeting agencies that “fail to deliver on the targets we set them”. | In the coming weeks, Ms Mordaunt is expected to flesh out her plans for aid, arguing it is necessary for Britain's security and prosperity- but targeting agencies that “fail to deliver on the targets we set them”. |
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