Rishi Sunak ‘wants to divert billions from foreign aid budget to pay for spies, drones and cyberweapons’
- UK has a legal obligation to spend 0.7 percent of GDP (£15.8bn this year) on aid
- But a review of foreign, defence and security policy could see priorities shift
- Sunak has told Cabinet any boost for defence will have to come from aid funds
- Boris Johnson is not yet said to have been convinced by the Chancellor
Rishi Sunak arrives to attend a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday
Rishi Sunak wants to divert billions from the foreign aid budget to pay for spies, drones and cyberweapons, it was reported last night.
The Chancellor has told Cabinet that any increased spending on defence assets such as AI-enabled drones must come from aid funds.
The UK has a legal obligation to spend 0.7 per cent of GDP on aid – which this year comes to £15.8billion – but a review of foreign, defence and security policy could see defence prioritised.
A Whitehall source told The Times: ‘The Chancellor has been clear that if the review isn’t cost-neutral it is only right that any extra spending comes out of the 0.7 per cent.’
General Sir Richard Barrons, former commander of Joint Forces Command, praised the possibility of extra money for the Ministry of Defence, saying it would be ‘an investment in prosperity as much as capability, as you would be making things you could sell to others’.
The MoD has previously said it is keen to keep pace with the rapidly expanding drone fleets around the world, with AI-assisted aircraft top of the list.
Another possibility would be to buy one or more hospital ships, available for as little as £100 million, or to build them from scratch for around £500 million.
Francis Tusa, editor of the industry newsletter Defence Analysis, told The Times that this would help to create jobs, while improving military capabilities.
Another possibility would be to buy one or more hospital ships, available for as little as £100 million, or to build them from scratch for around £500 million (pictured: the USNS Naval Hospital Ship in the Hudson River during the coronavirus pandemic)
Today Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will announce a formal merger between the Foreign Office and the Department for International Development.
It is believed he will avoid reaffirming Britain’s commitment to the 0.7 per cent pledge.
Instead, he will claim ‘Global Britain’ will show it is a ‘force for good in the world’, it was reported.
But Mr Sunak is not yet thought to have convinced Boris Johnson of his plan and previous attempts to persuade other countries that military spending could encompass aid have failed to win approval.
Former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell said: ‘With the ink hardly dry on our manifesto, I don’t think the House of Commons would easily agree to balance the books on the backs of the poorest women and children in the world.’
Tory chairman of the Commons defence committee Tobias Ellwood said the cut would be ‘shortsighted in failing to appreciate how well-targeted aid can strengthen relationships and open up new markets – thus helping the Treasury’.
AI drones are among the most wanted assets for the Ministry of Defence (stock image)
The merger means the former international development secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan has returned to the backbenches.
No 10 confirmed she would be entitled to a pay-off because of the closure of her department.
Conservative former prime minister David Cameron previously warned the merger was a ‘mistake’ and that it would result in the UK commanding ‘less respect’ on the global stage.
Tony Blair, the Labour former prime minister whose administration created the department in 1997, said he was ‘utterly dismayed’ by Boris Johnson’s decision.