The Institute of Economic Affairs discovered up to £45 million was handed out between 2005 and 2018. The report stated global quangos such as the World Health Organisation have changed definitions so that “lifestyle interventions” can be part of the foreign aid spending, including India being given £1.5million to send texts to its people advising them to drink less. Now senior Tory Philip Davies has called on the Prime Minister to use foreign aid money on public services at home instead if he wins December’s election.

Mark Tovey said: “It is infuriating to see tax-payers’ hard-earned money wasted on pet projects abroad.”

China received £7.9million for projects such as researching how much salt Chinese people used when cooking at home.

Meanwhile, Chile got £300,000 to evaluate its sugar tax and Bangladeshi imams were given£800,000 to warn against tobacco.

And more than £600,000 of Britain’s foreign aid money was used to fund a programme tackling “malnutrition” in Indian children.

This was used to fight childhood obesity due to the World Health Organisation’s change in definition.

Report author Mark Tovey said: “Misallocating UK aid money on nanny-state projects instead of targeted and effective programmes costs lives.”

He added anti-obesity drives and stop smoking campaigns should not be part of aid spending.

Mr Tovey aid: “The British government is generous in its foreign aid spending and the public are broadly supportive, but anti-obesity drives and stop smoking campaigns do not fit in with the common conception of aid spending.

“This includes feeding the hungry and tackling infectious diseases.”

Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, added: “Foreign aid money is supposed to help the poorest people in the world, not to feather the nest of wealthy academics.”

When David Cameron was Prime Minister, he made a law that the UK must spend 0.7 percent of its yearly income on foreign aid.

This works out to around £14billion.

DON’T MISS
Election poll tracker LIVE: Boris Johnson popularity soars [INSIGHT]
Brexit Party MEP hints at ‘unofficial’ pact with Boris Johnson [REVEALED]
Gove refuses to admit UK could still leave on no deal by end of 2020 [WATCH]

Back in September, Mr Johnson announced British scientists would be able to have access to up to £1 billion of the foreign aid budget.

This would be to help developing countries tackle climate change.

Ministers were said to be hoping the fund will help reduce public controversy over the £14 billion aid budget. 

Mr Johnson said the use of foreign aid money to fund British research was “innovative”.

He added it would “benefit all of us and show how we can use our aid budget to tackle climate change”.

Source: Read Full Article