UK slashes aid to Yemen as ex-minister warns it will abandon children to starvation

Displaced people get food rations ahead of a donors conference on Yemen humanitarian crisis

Credit: Shutterstock 

Boris Johnson has been accused by a former Tory minister of condemning “hundreds of thousands of children to starvation” after the Government slashed aid funding to war-torn Yemen by half.

Andrew Mitchell, a Tory MP and the former international development secretary, said the cut from £160m in 2020 to around £87m this year was an "unimaginable decision." 

Former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt joined the criticism and said he was “deeply disappointed” at the decision. He added that the “timing is inexplicable with the UN warning only last week that Yemen faces the worst famine the world has seen for decades.”

The funding cuts were announced by James Cleverly, a UK foreign office minister, during a UN donor conference on Monday afternoon.

But Mr Mitchell, in an unusually strong rebuke from a former Tory minister, accused the Government of shirking its duties as a world leader.

“Britain is the lead country at the UN on Yemen, yet this decision will condemn hundreds of thousands of children to starvation,” he said.

He added that the funding cut was a breach of the Conservatives’ manifesto pledge to maintain spending 0.7 per cent of gross national income on aid.

The conflict in Yemen, between the Saudi-led Coalition supporting the beleaguered Yemeni government and Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, has killed 130,000 people since 2014 and created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The move to slash funding has been criticised by human rights groups, including Save the Children, which said it had confirmed their “worst fears.”

“In September last year, the UK announced a global Call to Action to avert famine. Six months later, it is slashing aid to a country on the verge of the largest famine the world has seen in decades,” said Kevin Watkins, the CEO of Save the Children.  

“Global Britain should be standing up for the 400,000 children under five who might starve to death in Yemen this year, not abandoning them in their hour of greatest need,” he added.

Jean-Michel Grand, executive director of Action Against Hunger UK, said: "We are shocked and appalled by the UK’s decision to slash aid to Yemen.

“Diplomacy alone will not pay doctors salaries or provide life-saving malnutrition treatment for the countless children facing starvation.”

But a spokesman for the Government defended the policy, insisting that the UK “remains steadfast in our support to Yemeni people as one of the biggest donors of lifesaving aid and through our diplomatic efforts to bring peace.”