British MPs demand huge increase in refugee aid

Britain's aid to Burmese refugees and those displaced by the military regime is "unacceptably low" and should be quadrupled within five years, a Commons select committee says today.

In a strongly worded 60-page report, the committee overseeing the work of the Department for International Development asks for an increase to £35m each year to mitigate the "forgotten crisis" of the half million displaced within Burma by the junta.

The MPs, who have visited refugee camps along the Thai border, say they are concerned that the DfID is failing to play a leading role in scaling up assistance.