THE SNP have condemned the fact that Boris Johnson has had to be "shamed" by his own party to reverse cuts to foreign aid.
It was reported in the Sunday Times today that a group of Tory rebels could force the Prime Minister to U-turn on foreign aid cuts of around £4 billion.
Johnson is understood to be "actively considering" allowing MPs to vote on the cuts before parliament rises for the summer recess at the end of July.
READ MORE: Tories told they have 'blood on their hands' over cuts to international aid
A group of about 50 Tory backbench MPs, including former prime minister Theresa May, oppose the planned reduction of the 0.7% of national income that was pledged in the 2019 Conservative Party General Election manifesto.
The cuts would take UK foreign aid to 0.5% of national income, meaning millions would be lost to supporting girls' education, clean water, the humanitarian crises in Yemen and Syria and childhood polio vaccinations.
It comes as Johnson faces a backlash from his party in Westminster after the Tories were narrowly defeated by Labour in the Batley and Spen by-election.
READ MORE: Labour's Kim Leadbeater narrowly wins Batley and Spen by-election
One Tory grandee told the Sunday Times that this issue coupled with "chumocracy claims and Hancock's resignation" is making the Tories look like the "nasty party" again.
As the UK Government has legislation coming up where it needs the support of all Tory MPs, giving them a vote on the proposed cuts to foreign aid is now being considered but it is not yet clear what that vote will look like.
The SNP’s international development spokesperson, Chris Law MP (below), said: "Boris Johnson should not need to be shamed by his backbenchers into doing what is right.
“These drastic and unnecessary cuts could spark instability and unrest across the world, leading to civil war and mass hunger and famine. Johnson must re-think this decision or the responsibility for further and avoidable death across the globe will lie squarely at his feet.
“At the very moment when global leadership is needed more than ever, this Tory government is walking away from millions still struggling from the Covid pandemic and a permanent poverty crisis, and betraying Afghans at the very moment they need support.
“It seems he has no shame when it comes to abandoning the UK Government’s global responsibilities including its commitment to former warzones where UK forces have been deployed – there is an overriding moral imperative and national interest for the UK not to abandon such places.
“In stark contrast, the SNP Scottish Government has doubled its aid funding and stands ready and willing to play its part in tackling world hunger and peace-keeping.
“It is clearer than ever that Scotland is on a completely different trajectory to that of the UK, and it is time we had the full powers of independence to reach our full potential in bringing our progressive, humanitarian approach to the global stage.”
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