Rebel Tory MPs are ‘cautiously optimistic’ that Boris Johnson will be forced to reverse a cut to foreign aid. The Prime Minister has temporarily reduced aid from 0.7 per cent of national income to 0.5 per cent, breaking a Conservative manifesto commitment. Thirty Tory MPs, including former prime minister Theresa May, support an amendment that would require new legislation to make up the shortfall left by the cut. The Prime Minister has temporarily reduced aid from 0.7 per cent of national income to 0.5 per cent, breaking a Conservative manifesto commitmentHealth Secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC the cut was ‘entirely reasonable’ given that the pandemic had caused a ‘once-in-300-year economic interruption’. Thirty Tory MPs, including former prime minister Theresa May, support an amendment that would require new legislation to make up the shortfall left by the cutAsked if there are enough rebels, amendment-supporting Tory MP Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Commons foreign affairs committee, told Sky News: ‘We’re cautiously optimistic... Britain has a huge opportunity to shape the world at the moment of extraordinary flux and this, along with our defence and diplomatic and trade capabilities, is part of that.’A letter to the Government from charities including Oxfam and Save the Children has claimed the aid cut could undermine the country’s credibility at the G7 meeting in Cornwall, which starts on Friday.

Source: Daily Mail June 07, 2021 00:47 UTC