UK International Development Secretary Anneliese Dodds has resigned over Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s recent decision to increase defence spending by cutting the foreign aid budget on Friday.
In a letter to Starmer, which she posted on social media, she said there were no “slight ways” to increase defence spending, but she disagreed with the Prime Minister’s decision.
Starmer said on February 25 that the government would increase UK defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 from the current 2.3%. He added that Europe was entering a new era that required a “generational response.”
The move has received support from US President Donald Trump, but has been criticised by humanitarian organisations who said it not only harms people from the world’s poorest countries, but also weakens the UK’s soft power.
Earlier this month the UK leader sacked junior health minister, Andrew Gwynne, for making anti-Semitic, racist and sexist remarks in a WhatsApp chat. In January, anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq resigned after being named in probes in Bangladesh into graft accusations.
And in November, Louise Haigh stepped down as transport secretary after revelations that she pleaded guilty to a criminal offence before becoming a member of parliament.
