Fears UK aid cuts could undermine research on deadliest diseases

Exclusive: experts sign letter warning against slashing spending on public-private programmes

Experts fear a push to cut the UK's aid budget will slash spending on global health research, handicapping international public-private programmes that have helped combat the world's deadliest diseases over the last decade.

In a letter addressed to the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, last week, prominent parliamentarians sought reassurance that the planned cuts would not lead to dramatic reductions" in investment for devastating diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, Aids and a clutch of neglected tropical diseases.