well one of the more controversial
elements of the spending review was the
chancellor's decision
to cut the amount of money that the uk
gives in foreign aid
the decision has been widely criticized
and a minister at the foreign office has
resigned today in protest after the
decision
mr tsunaka told mps that to carry on
spending abroad
when there was a domestic emergency was
difficult to justify
our diplomatic correspondent james
landale has more details
for years the site of a plane delivering
british food and medicine
has brought hope to millions the
humanitarian assistance that can for
some
mean the difference between life and
death
but now the government's cutting back to
the fury of the man
who championed aid in office
well i think it's a very sad moment um
it's not just that we've we're breaking
a promise
to the poorest people and the poorest
countries in the world a promise that we
made
and a promise that we don't have to
break it's that
that 0.7 commitment it really said
something about britain
last year the uk spent 15 billion pounds
on foreign aid about
0.7 percent of national income the
government's now cutting that legally
binding target
to just 0.5 that means spending only 10
billion
next year this would be less than
germany on 0.6 percent
but more than france on point four
percent
those who work to reduce poverty and
disease say these cuts will bite
deep particularly during the covert 19
pandemic
this is the last time we should be
cutting aid cutting aid will make it
harder to get vaccines to people all
over the world
harder to get the treatments that people
need and ultimately it will extend the
lifetime of the pandemic
this is a little bit like cutting
funding to the raf
right in the middle of the battle of
britain my laws existing humanitarian
disasters and conflicts
the foreign office development minister
lady sugg was so unhappy
she resigned saying the cut was
fundamentally wrong
but the aid budget has long faced
questions about priorities such as
why some goes to india with its own
space program
questions that are harder to answer when
the country is facing such an economic
emergency
this is not something that anybody
wanted to have to do but the truth is
that the nhs
and helping people who are unemployed
has to be the priority next year
for years britain's had a reputation as
an aid superpower and that's got the uk
a hearing on the international stage
it's open doors for
ministers and officials here at the
foreign office the question
is what impact today's decision will
have on that reputation
just as britain tries to carve a new
role for itself after brexit
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to spend less on aid the government will
also have to change the law
and that means a long parliamentary
battle ahead james landau bbc news