U.K. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer must stick to his pledge to bring back a separate international development department “on day one” in power, a senior party lawmaker has said.
Sarah Champion, chair of the House of Commons committee scrutinizing aid work, criticized a Labour review — revealed by Devex last week — into whether to set up an “agency” within the existing Foreign, Commonwealth, & Development Office instead, to avoid “disruption and cost.”
At a London think tank event, Champion dismissed the idea it would be expensive to reverse the 2020 folding of the Department for International Development into the Foreign and Commonwealth Office by the Conservatives, arguing a “new” agency would in fact be more costly.
Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).
About the author
Rob Merrick
Rob Merrick is the U.K. Correspondent for Devex, covering FCDO and British aid. He reported on all the key events in British politics of the past 25 years from Westminster, including the financial crash, the Brexit fallout, the "Partygate" scandal, and the departures of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. Rob has worked for The Independent and the Press Association and is a regular commentator on TV and radio. He can be reached at rob.merrick@devex.com.
