- Money should be spent on 'schools not soldiers' says head of Oxfam
- Funding for military peacekeeping operations will offset defence cuts
- Prime Minister's plan welcomed by Tory MPs
By Jason Groves
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Backlash: David Cameron has been criticised by aid charities for his decision to divert millions of pounds towards military operations
Aid money should be spent on ?schools, not soldiers?, charities said last night ? as David Cameron faced a backlash over moves to divert hundreds of millions of pounds to the Armed Forces.
Charities reacted with alarm after the Prime Minister revealed he wants to use part of the vast aid budget to help pay for military peacekeeping operations.
But former defence minister Sir Gerald Howarth hailed a ?welcome first step? and said security was an ?essential precursor to the provision of aid?.
The move will help protect the Armed Forces from further spending cuts and also help the Department for International Development (DfId) spend a 30 per cent budget increase due in April.
Mr Cameron?s plan was warmly welcomed by Tory MPs who have raised increasing concern about the policy of cutting back defence spending while pouring billions more into foreign aid. But aid charities warned diverting money was potentially a major backward step.
Oxfam?s head of policy, Max Lawson, said the aid budget should be spent on ?hospitals and not helicopter gunships?.
He went on: ?The millions of people up and down the country who support the fantastic stance the Government is taking, protecting the aid budget when every other G8 nation is not doing that ? they expect this to be spent on schools and not soldiers.
?So we cannot see any penny diverted into the military.?
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However Sir Gerald Howarth said: ?Britain?s armed forces contribute enormously to the provision of security and capacity building, which are essential precursors to the provision of aid and it is entirely appropriate to make those changes.
?I have not come across a single Conservative who is in favour of increasing aid at a time when we are cutting the Armed Forces so this is a very welcome first step.?
Spending: The Prime Minister revealed yesterday how he wants to use part of the aid budget to offset cuts to the defence budget
Clash: The head of policy at Oxfam Max Lawson, left, criticised David Cameron's plan but the move was welcomed by former defence minister Gerald Howarth, right
And Tory MP Patrick Mercer, a former Army officer, said security and overseas aid were ?inextricably linked?.
Downing Street insisted the switch would not affect Mr Cameron?s controversial target of spending 0.7 per cent of Britain?s total income on aid.
Money will be spent on peacekeeping and conflict prevention work rather than weapons, so should still count towards the target.
The new approach means aid cash could be used to pay for troop training in Mali, demobilisation in Afghanistan and providing assistance to rebel fighters in Syria.
Much of the money could be channelled through the ?conflict pool? - a joint initiative between DfId, the MoD and the Foreign Office.
Overall aid spending will rise in April as the percentage of Britain?s income spent on foreign aid rises from 0.56 per cent to hit the 0.7 target.
Meeting the target will require an increase from ?8.65billion to ?11.3billion in the coming year ? a rise of more than 30 per cent.
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