London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 28, 2025

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office opens

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office opens

The newly merged Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has begun work with a pledge to protect "the world's poorest" from coronavirus and famine.

The new department is opening after No 10 decided to combine the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with the Department for International Development (DfID).

Critics have said the move could weaken British influence and reduce expertise.

But the government said it would allow the country to be "a force for good".

In a statement announcing the launch of the department, the government also said it had "committed to spending 0.7% of our national income on aid" - despite renewed pressure from some in the Conservative Party over the weekend to scrap the target.

To mark its first day in business, the department's lead minister, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, announced a £119m fund to tackle coronavirus and famine.

The money will be targeted in Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Somalia, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Sudan and West Africa's Sahel region - all places where the outbreak has worsened conditions for people already struggling with extreme hunger, wars and/or climate change.

Mr Raab said: "Coronavirus and famine threaten millions in some of the world's poorest countries, and give rise to direct problems that affect the UK, including terrorism and migration flows.

"Global Britain, as a force for good in the world, is leading by example and bringing the international community together to tackle these deadly threats, because it's the right thing to do and it protects British interests."

The foreign secretary also confirmed he would be appointing Nick Dyer - a director general at DfID - as the UK's first special envoy for famine prevention and humanitarian affairs.



The abolition of the Department for International Development may have been driven by political pressure from within the Conservative Party.

But the government argues that its merger with the Foreign Office will mean better, more joined-up policy.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that by combining its diplomatic strength with its expertise in foreign aid, Britain could not only tackle global challenges, but also protect its interests.

Critics fear the new Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office could mean the government weakens its commitment to spend 0.7% of national income on foreign aid.

But Downing Street insisted there'd been no change to that policy.

The two departments have a history of being merged and split up again, and the move to bring them together has long been mooted in Conservative circles.

Boris Johnson announced the merger in June, telling MPs it would ensure aid spending better reflected UK aims and that it was a "long overdue reform".

He said UK aid spending had "been treated as some giant cashpoint in the sky that arrives without any reference to UK interests".

But the PM pledged DfID's budget - which at £15bn last year dwarfed the £2.4bn spent by the Foreign Office - would be maintained

Mr Johnson's decision was criticised by three previous prime ministers - Conservative David Cameron, and Labour's Gordon Brown and Tony Blair.



Mr Cameron said it would mean "less expertise, less voice for development at the top table and ultimately less respect for the UK overseas".

The Commons International Development Committee also called the move "impulsive", saying the world's poorest "will pay the greatest price".

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer pledged to reinstate DfID if he were to win the next general election, saying the merger was "the tactics of pure distraction".

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
×