Anneliese Dodds has quit as international development minister over Sir Keir Starmer's decision to slash the overseas aid budget to pay for an increase in defence spending. Ms Dodds, who is also a Women and Equalities minister and attends cabinet, said she was resigning from both posts "with great sadness" but would continue to support the government from the backbenches.
She said there had been a "tactical decision" for the Overseas Development Aid (ODA) budget to "absorb the entire burden" of the increase in defence spending. "Ultimately, these cuts will remove food and healthcare from desperate people - deeply harming the UK's reputation." she said in her resignation letter.
"I know you have been clear that you are not ideologically opposed to international development. But the reality is that this decision is already being portrayed as following in President Trump's slipstream of cuts to USAID.". Around £6bn per year will be taken out of the aid budget and transferred over to pay for defence.
That amounts to a reduction in aid spending from 0.5% of GDP to 0.3%. This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
