UN development chief urges UK to rethink ‘brutal’ cuts to aid budget

Achim Steiner calls for ministers to discuss reversals to overseas aid squeeze imposed by Rishi Sunak

The UN's development chief has urged UK ministers to have a public debate about reversing the brutal" cuts to the country's aid budget made by the Conservative government.

Achim Steiner, the administrator of the UN Development Programme, told the Guardian he found it a little bit sobering" that Labour had not yet promised to undo the squeeze imposed by Rishi Sunak. While chancellor, Sunak suspended the UK's commitment to spend 0.7% of national income on overseas aid during the pandemic in 2021, citing budget pressures, switching instead to 0.5%.