Boris Johnson faces potential defeat in a Commons vote on Monday over his decision to renege on a manifesto pledge on foreign aid, with backbench rebels supporting an amendment which would require new legislation to make up the shortfall left by the cut to the UK's official development assistance.
Former Cabinet minister David Davis called the move to trim the aid budget “harmful” and “devastating” and suggested people who miss out on vital humanitarian assistance in developing countries may die as a result.
“No other G7 country is cutting its aid in this way. It is going to have devastating consequences across the world,” he said, adding that massive cuts in clean water which kills children worldwide and in funding for food for starving people could lead to “thousands” of deaths.
The prime minister has been criticised across the political spectrum for reducing foreign aid from 0.7 per cent of national income to 0.5 per cent, breaking a manifesto commitment.
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