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Today’s daily politics briefing
Boris Johnson’s government has been condemned by the UN’s top humanitarian affairs official for slashing aid to Yemen, saying it was a move to “balance the books on the backs of the starving people of Yemen”.
Mark Lowcock, a former permanent secretary at Britain’s Department for International Development, said the decision would damage Britain’s global influence, calling it “an act of medium and longer-term self-harm, and all for saving what is actually – in the great scheme of things at the moment – a relatively small amount of money”.
Meanwhile, the prime minister has claimed the UK was “bound to” have issues with the EU in the early stages after Brexit, amid difficulties over the arrangements in Northern Ireland. A report released on Monday also found that the UK lost market share in the United States, Germany and China because of the country’s departure from the bloc.
PM ‘balancing books on backs of starving people of Yemen’
The UN’s top humanitarian affairs official has condemned Boris Johnson’s government for slashing aid to Yemen.
Mark Lowcock, a former permanent secretary at Britain’s Department for International Development, says the decision to essentially halve the amount of UK aid to the war-torn country is a move to “balance the books on the backs of the starving people of Yemen”.
Mr Lowcock, now head of the UN’s humanitarian affairs office, has told The Guardian the move will lead to the deaths of tens of thousands of people and will damage Britain’s global influence.
He told the paper the UK’s move was “an act of medium and longer-term self-harm, and all for saving what is actually – in the great scheme of things at the moment – a relatively small amount of money”.
“The decision, in other words, to balance the books on the backs of the starving people of Yemen, has consequences not just for Yemenis now, but for the world in the long term,” Mr Lowcock said.
The UK has pledged at least £87m in aid, down from a promise of £160m in 2020 and £200m in 2019.
Tom Batchelor8 March 2021 08:10
In the diary for Monday
Children return to school today, many for the first time in months, in the first stage of the government’s roadmap out of lockdown.
Pressure is building on the government over jailed Iranian-British woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, whose husband, Richard Ratcliffe, will be staging a protest outside the country’s embassy with their six-year-old daughter.
Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, will be visiting a school in Dagenham.
And we will watch for political reaction to the claims made about the royal family in Harry and Meghan’s Oprah interview.
Tom Batchelor8 March 2021 08:03
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s rolling coverage of political news from the UK.
Tom Batchelor8 March 2021 07:59
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