The UK government is drastically cutting its aid to Yemen, the world’s worst humanitarian crisis zone after six years of conflict, in a move that has been condemned by the UN secretary-general António Guterres as a “death sentence”. James Cleverly, the minister for the Middle East and North Africa, said yesterday that the UK government will provide “at least” £87m to Yemen this year, down from £214m last year.
As well as condemnation from Labour and other opposition parties, this cut – which comes at a time when Yemen is on the verge of famine (a fate avoided in 2019 by a huge injection of international aid – has prompted a robust backlash from prominent One Nation Conservatives including Andrew Mitchell, the former international development secretary, and Jeremy Hunt, the former foreign secretary and Boris Johnson’s rival for the Conservative leadership in 2019. Hunt said yesterday that “abandoning a forgotten country and people is inconsistent with our values, weakens our moral authority and reduces our influence”.
Content from our partners
