As foreign secretary, he now controls the international aid budget (because Boris Johnson abolished DfID and made it part of the Foreign Office) and earlier this month Lammy told the Guardian that Trump’s decision to tear up the US aid budget was a “big strategic mistake”.
This morning, asked about the £13.4bn figure on BBC Breakfast, John Healey, the defence secretary, confirmed that £6bn was the “real terms” figure for the rise in defence spending.
Lammy self evidently not been able to protect the foreign office budget since only weeks ago urged the US not to cut its aid budget saying it would be a big strategic mistake.
It is not clear yet which aspects of the aid budget will be cut the most to fund the extra defence spending, but Lammy says projects in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan will be protected.
To make this [higher defence spending] commitment, and stick within our fiscal rules, we have had to make the extremely difficult decision to lower our spending on international development.
