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Boris Johnson is poised to break his promise to give MPs a vote before a “catastrophic” £4bn-a-year cut to overseas aid begins, angry campaigners say.
Parliament was told that legislation would be brought forward, but that is now not expected to happen until July – yet the huge spending reductions will begin from April.
Ministers have shelved the vote despite Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, admitting that ploughing ahead without passing a bill leaves the government open to a legal challenge.
The cut – which breaks a Tory election pledge – will lead to 100,000 preventable deaths, Mr Raab has been warned, and it has been branded “a colossal blow” by Joe Biden’s new aid chief.
Andrew Mitchell, the former Conservative international development secretary, branded the government’s stance “pernicious and shabby” and said it was “worried about losing a vote”.
And Sarah Champion, the chair of the Commons International Development Committee, told The Independent: “The government is breaking its promise and going back on its word.”
It is thought Mr Johnson is delaying to try to avoid an embarrassing row before he hosts the G7 summit in June – but campaigners are already threatening huge protests, if Covid restrictions allow.
Mr Raab promised the vote back in November, when he admitted the “temporary” cut from 0.7 to 0.5 per cent of national income – necessary because of the economic crisis, he argued – might become permanent.
Telling MPs he could not “predict” when the cut would be reversed, the foreign secretary said: “We have taken advice very carefully on this.
“It is very clear that, if we cannot see a path back to 0.7 per cent in the foreseeable, immediate future – and we cannot plan for that – then the legislation would require us to change it.
“We would almost certainly face a legal challenge if we do not very carefully follow it.”
However, plans for a vote last month were abandoned – and Mr Raab then unveiled the details of cuts to go down to the 0.5 per cent figure, to begin in six weeks.
With much of the budget already allocated, only around £3.5bn is left for direct aid projects, a staggering cut of 60 per cent from 2019 described as “catastrophic” by Ms Champion.
The Labour MP added: “Such a significant cut must be properly debated and voted on in parliament – it is our job.
“This cynical political game has real consequences. Lives are at stake, education hangs in the balance, and the rights of women and girls could go back to the dark ages across the Global South.”
Mr Mitchell added: “The 0.7 per cent promise was made by every MP: it’s a promise the government must keep, or put to a vote in Parliament.”
And Stephanie Draper, head of the Bond network which coordinates more than 400 aid groups, said they had been “left blind as to which aid programmes are being cut, by how much and how these decisions are being made”.
“The way the cuts to UK aid are happening is shocking. No legislation has been passed, but decisions on what to cut appear to be going ahead regardless,” she said.
Samantha Powers, the new head of the US Agency for International Development (USAid), sharply criticised the cut in evidence to a committee of MPs last month.
Bemoaning the UK leaving behind its “desire to change the world for the better”, she warned of “a colossal blow to international peace and security”.
A spokesperson said: “We are looking at this carefully and take our obligations very seriously. We’ll set out more details on the next steps in due course.”
Around £5bn would be slashed from aid between 2020 and 2025 anyway, because the UK’s shrinking economy means 0.7 per cent is worth less.
But the reduction to spending only 0.5 per cent of income – taking the UK below France, Germany and even Turkey – is expected to swipe at least £20bn more, over five years.
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