Keir Starmer accused of ‘hypocrisy’ over aid cut to World Food Programme

‘This will cost lives’ says former international development minister Michael Bates

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Prime minister Keir Starmer has been accused of hypocrisy after the UK reduced its funding to the UN’s World Food Programme by a third.

The Labour leader had pledged to prioritise the “fight against hunger” and vowed to tackle “suffering and starvation” at a G20 summit in Brazil upon entering government.

But Britain has since cut funding to the WFP from $610m (£448m) in 2024 to $435m (£319m) last year.

Michael Bates, a peer and former Conservative aid minister, has hit out at the decision as he said cases of starvation are rising “exponentially”.

“If this was just a UK story it would be bad enough, but we are seeing it is a French story, it is a German story and a US story,” he told The Guardian.

“All these countries are cutting. There will be a time lag but this will cost lives. We have a responsibility to protect these lives.”

Last year the government hosted a two-day conference on starvation and malnutrition in Afghanistan. As of last year, nearly 23 million Afghans require aid, including 12 million lacking food. The World Food Programme has shut 298 relief sites across the country.

Mr Bates called the decision to cut aid while calling for action “hypocritical”.

A UK government spokesperson told the publication that the UK remains the fifth largest donor to the WFP.

Prime minister Starmer made the decision to cut international aid to 0.3 per cent of GDP as he vowed to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent amid concerns over the country’s war-readiness. Rachel Reeves announced the decision last year, despite the party having previously promised to restore the figure to 0.7 per cent of GDP.

In December 2025, foreign ministers and charities hit out at the UK leader for cutting aid while funneling funds into initiatives to crack down on illegal immigration from Bangladesh.

Flora Alexander, the International Rescue Committee (IRC)’s UK executive director, said at the time: “With the aid budget at its lowest in decades, every pound must go where it saves lives and tackles the root causes of crisis.

“That means prioritising fragile and conflict-affected states, where needs are greatest and where smart investment can help reduce the pressures that force people to leave their homes.”

The United Nations has warned that 55 million people are to face a hunger crisis in central and West Africa.

Four countries – Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger – account for 77 per cent of that the food insecurity, with some 15,000 people in Nigeria currently at risk of food “catastrophe,” or famine-level hunger, for the first time in nearly a decade, according to reports.

This article has been produced as part of The Independent’s Rethinking Global Aid project

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