THE mark of a civilized nation is the help it gives to those facing starvation, war and displacement.
Have no doubt that I believe we should contribute a portion of our wealth to overseas aid.
But we must have confidence that the money we entrust to this cause is used wisely and reaches its target.
Regrettably, I’m not surprised by the findings of a committee of MPs that fraud investigations have quadrupled.
Five years ago, Mr Cameron’s government committed us to spending an arbitrary 0.7 per cent of GDP on overseas aid.
I thought it was a mistake then, and I still do.
With the growth in the economy, the figure we donate has ballooned from £8 billion in 2010 to £12.2 billion this year.
This when we are struggling to cope to look after our own.
More than half our aid is routed through the UN and the World Bank, both of which the Public Accounts’ Committee (PAC) says suffer from “significant and endemic” financial crimes.
Remember, we must borrow every single penny of this money, money we can ill afford.
I am relieved that new Development Secretary Priti Patel has pledged to review all foreign aid contracts.
So she should.
The PAC report shows that there were 102 investigations into fraud in 2010/11, 429 in 2015/16 and 475 cases, thought to involve up to £600 million, in the first nine months of this financial year alone.
With austerity continuing to bite, I would have thought that the target of 0.7 per cent should be reviewed, and what money we do decide to give far better targeted.
Our aim is noble, but clearly lacks accountability, which the taxpayer is owed.