UK to divert aid budget and spend funds on defence and intelligence

Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak leave Downing Street and head for a Cabinet meeting to be held at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Jeremy Selwyn

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is seeking to divert billions of pounds from foreign aid to pay for upgrades to the UK's intelligence and defence capabilities, according to The Times newspaper.

Britain has pledged to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on development projects, though the coronavirus crisis has cost it dearly and the Government is reviewing its foreign, defence and security policy.

“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,” a Whitehall source was quoted by The Times as saying.

Sunak is understood to believe that the aid pledge should be abandoned or redefined so that the cash could be spent on a wider set of programmes.

It comes amid mounting speculation about Sunak's Autumn Budget, which could include tax rises.

Sunak is under pressure to find bring public finances back under control after national debt rose above £2 trillion for the first time last month.