Britain has given China £400million in foreign aid since ministers pledged to end the payments, according to new research.
Figures compiled by the House of Commons library reveal that the Government has continued to send tens of millions of pounds a year to the communist superpower, in spite of a pledge by aid minister Andrew Mitchell to halt funding in 2010.
In the decade since Mr Mitchell’s intervention, a total of £391million of taxpayers’ money was sent to China, despite the fact it is now the world’s second biggest economy. The final figure is expected to top £400million, as the details of spending last year have not yet been released. Annual spending peaked at £68.3million in 2019 and was still running at £51.7million in 2021, the last year for which figures are available.
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith condemned the spending – and said it showed that ministers were still not taking the threat posed by China seriously.
