London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 04, 2025

UK government plans 80% cuts to ‘world-leading’ anti-corruption work

UK government plans 80% cuts to ‘world-leading’ anti-corruption work

British aid spending on global efforts to tackle corruption and promote human rights is set to fall by as much as 80%, openDemocracy understands – sparking criticism from former Tory ministers and transparency experts.
The government unveils its long-awaited review of defence strategy on Tuesday. But while prime minister Boris Johnson has been talking up ‘Global Britain’, plans currently being discussed in the Foreign Office would see drastic cuts for initiatives to prevent corruption in some of the world’s poorest countries.

Among the projects that could be at risk are law-enforcement efforts to tackle international flows of illicit finance; a flagship anti-corruption project in Tanzania, and a £16m media freedom initiative across North Africa and the Middle East.

Earlier this month, openDemocracy revealed that the UK government is slashing hundreds of millions in humanitarian aid to war-torn countries such as Syria and South Sudan – despite recent pledges of ongoing assistance.

The British government has not disputed openDemocracy’s reporting but has launched an internal investigation into the leaks. Last week, the United Nations criticised the UK for dramatically cutting its global research funding – warning the move could imperil efforts to combat diseases similar to COVID-19 and Ebola.

Now, a source familiar with the planned aid cuts has told openDemocracy that the Foreign Office have discussed proposals to cut the department’s newly created ‘open societies and human rights’ directorate’s spending by as much as 80%. The move could mean spending is slashed on work to tackle corruption and promote good governance around the world.

Conservative MP Harriet Baldwin, who served as a minister in both the Foreign Office and the Department for International Development, said the British government should reverse its decision to cut spending from 0.7 to 0.5% of gross national income.

“When I was the minister responsible for funding a wide range of anti-corruption projects, I was able to see first hand how our aid funding helped to catch corruption and return public funds to Angola and Nigeria, for example. The UK has also helped improve governance and reduce corruption in Ukraine and the Western Balkans.

“It is a clear cut case of how a small amount of aid spending can have a huge impact and make us safer here in the UK,” Baldwin told openDemocracy.

Stephanie Draper, CEO of Bond, the UK network for organisations working in international development, said the proposed cuts would “undoubtedly hurt communities in parts of the world that need assistance, particularly when we have seen governments use the pandemic as an excuse to curb people’s rights and limit transparency”.

The Foreign Office declined to comment on specific figures but said that the “seismic impact of the pandemic” had forced it to “take tough but necessary decisions” to cut aid.

Boris Johnson has refused repeated calls for a vote on the cuts. Backbench Conservatives have threatened to go to court to force a vote on the decision to cut Britain’s legally binding aid spending, in breach of the 2019 Conservative manifesto.

The government has made promoting ‘open societies’ around the world a key plank of its foreign policy platform. Foreign secretary Dominic Raab has said that Britain’s presidency of the G7 this year is a great opportunity to promote open societies based on free trade, democracy and human rights.

This week’s integrated review of Britain’s defence and foreign policy is expected to reiterate these commitments. The open societies and human rights directorate will combine functions previously carried out by the Foreign Office and the Department for International Development, which were merged last year.

But anti-corruption experts have questioned how effective the new directorate will be if its spending is cut by four-fifths.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) could also face cuts from the funding it receives through Overseas Development Assistance. Last week, the NCA, which houses the international anti-corruption centre, was part of an operation that led to the UK returning £4.2m of Nigerian funds stolen by a former Nigeran governor.

Labour MP Margaret Hodge accused the British government of “turning its back on the world”, warning that: “Corruption and criminality will flourish in developing countries. This is a betrayal of the idea of ‘Global Britain.’”

Spotlight on Corruption’s Sue Hawley said that the cuts “could undermine not just the UK’s stated aim to act as a force for good globally, but also seriously curtail the UK’s ability to stem and seize corrupt money laundered through the UK’s financial system”.

“The UK has been a global leader in using aid money to fund law enforcement to track down corrupt funds and it risks losing a lot of credibility on the global stage if these cuts are as deep as rumoured,” she added.

Other government departments, including the Home Office, have some responsibility for international anti-corruption work, and these budgets are expected to be slashed, too.

Britain’s aid budget is due to fall from about £15bn before the pandemic to £9bn this year, owing to the smaller size of the post-COVID economy and a reduction in Britain’s commitment to aid spending. By contrast, the government’s widely criticised test-and-trace system – run by Conservative peer Dido Harding – is set to cost £37bn.

The British government has refused repeated calls to publish details of planned aid cuts, which have to be signed off by the end of the month.

Aid agencies, many of which were cut by as much as a fifth last year, have complained that they have been kept in the dark about the future of their work.

“The British government has completely abdicated responsibility,” an aid specialist involved in a Foreign Office-funded project in Nigeria told openDemocracy on condition of anonymity. “They still aren’t saying what is happening. People don’t know if their work will be there next month.”

A UK government spokesperson said: “We are still working through what this means for individual programmes and decisions have not yet been made.”

The National Crime Agency said that its budget for the coming year had yet to be agreed.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
×