Government win vote to cut overseas aid budget as ‘furious’ senior Tories rebel

The government has defeated an attempt by MPs to reverse its cuts to international aid.

Boris Johnson told the Commons that the pandemic meant he had to temporarily drop the requirement to spend 0.7% of GDP on aid.

He promised to reinstate the commitment once the national debt starts to fall and the government’s finances go back into surplus.

Furious Conservative rebel MPs teamed up with the Opposition to argue that those conditions might not be met for years – if ever.