Rishi Sunak has confirmed he will extend brutal foreign aid cuts to the world's poorest, in his Budget statement.
In the summer Ministers voted to slash UK aid spending by 0.2%, from 0.7% to 0.5% which amounts to a cut of around £4billion.
At the time, Boris Johnson insisted it would only be a "temporary measure".
But today, the Chancellor said UK foreign aid will only return to 0.7% of national income by 2024/25.
This menial commitment breaks the Tories' manifesto pledge in which they promised to spend 0.7% of gross national income on foreign aid.
Responding to the Budget statement, Rachel Reeves, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor said: “This Budget makes the Chancellor’s out-of-touch priorities clear.
"Labour would put working people first.
“We’d tax fairly, we’d spend wisely and after a decade of anaemic growth we’d get Britain’s economy firing on all cylinders."
The extension of cuts comes months after campaigners, MPs and a string of former Prime Ministers blasted Mr Johnson for cutting aid spending.
Just last week the Independent Commission for Aid Impact said the Tories' foreign aid budget cuts “undermined” efforts to limit the long-term damage of the coronavirus crisis overseas.
The ICAI review said: “We have seen evidence of programmes that would have mitigated the long-term damage of the crisis being reduced and good long-term investments being ended.
“We found evidence in some cases that this had increased the burden on partner countries and other funders, potentially placing vulnerable groups at increased risk.”
Liberal Democrat international development spokeswoman Layla Moran said the cut is “shameful”.
“In our fight against Covid-19 we are not safe until we are all safe,” she said.
