Welsh Labour and Cooperative MP for Neath, Christina Rees MP, has slammed the Prime Minister’s decision to abolish the Department for International Development, claiming it will “diminish Britain’s international standing”.
Rumours of the department’s demise have circulated for years and Downing Street has now confirmed that the UK Government intends to fold DfID into the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Secretary of State for International Development is set to be “retired” from her duties in September.
Leader of the Opposition, Keir Starmer MP, said the decision “diminishes Britain’s place in the world” and several leading aid charities have raised serious concerns about the Prime Minister’s plan.
Christina Rees MP said:
“Abolishing the Department for International Development during the middle of a global public health crisis is the precise opposite of what the government should be doing right now.
“Not only is this an obvious distraction tactic from Downing Street, it sends a message that Britain is turning inwards on itself at a time when we should be helping poorer countries more than ever.
“This pandemic will not be over until we have been able to eradicate it from every country in the world. This shake-up of Whitehall makes that harder; not easier.”