Prime Minister, how is it right to fill free ATM in Pakistan with Brit taxpayers’ cash?

IT’S very early but this must be ­Picture of the Year.

No, it’s not minicab drivers* outside my local railway station but taken in Peshawar, a major city in northern ­Pakistan, not far from the Afghan border.

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Unbelievably that queue of men — there is another queue for women as they are not allowed to stand together for religious reasons — all possess special cards which allow them to withdraw 4,500 rupees, around £35 each.

That money is YOUR money. It comes from UK taxpayers through the Department for International Development to this ATM some 4,000 miles away.

The amount we’ve spent on cash and credit cards for Pakistan has gone from £53million a year a decade ago to nearer £300million today.

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Around 235,000 families — the poorest in Pakistani society — are pocketing these payments every three months.

They can spend the money as they like. Incredibly British taxpayers are now ­footing seven per cent of the entire ­Pakistani dole bill. Why?

It is photos like this that shock ordinary hard-working people in this country. Handing people cash is never the answer — we know that from our own benefits system.

I note that the Prime Minister defended the handouts. She is wrong and the system is wrong.
*  Latest stats show 25 per cent of all Pakistani men in the UK are minicab drivers.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“It’s a curious parent who think it’s acceptable for teenage girls to flash large amounts of thigh.”

Hear! Hear! The quote came from head teacher Alison Colwell of Ebbsfleet Academy in Swanscombe, Kent, who turned away 20 pupils for wearing too short skirts. What  is even more unacceptable is that the parents complained about their children being turned away. No wonder we are slipping down the global education league – clearly the parents are even thicker than their children. God help us.

Farewell to sulky Sanchez

DON’T wish to come over all Piers Morgan-ish but I fear superstar Alexis Sanchez is on his way out of Arsenal and his exit may trigger the demise of manager Arsene Wenger.

I had £40 at 100/30 on Bournemouth to win the other night as I had been quite shocked at the attitude of the talented Sanchez to his team-mates during the Gunners’ previous game against Crystal Palace.

They won that game but I reasoned the kind of bad temper shown by Sanchez would damage team morale if he continued to be frustrated by their abilities.

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And so it proved, with the Chilean displaying all kind of unreasonable irritability during the match.

In the event I did my money as Arsenal fought back from 3-0 down. I imagine that Wenger did not chastise Sanchez for his petulance, as the power has shifted with only 18 months left on his contract and a new pay demand of £400k-a-week.

Mind you, if it’s true Sanchez is being offered £900k-a-week to go to China I fail to see what his problem is.

Two years there and he could afford to buy Charlton. Perhaps that’s what is making him so tetchy.

• AT last the environment charity Friends Of The Earth has been nailed for its pork pies.
  In leaflets it claimed fracking of shale gas increased the risk of cancer and asthma, would cause water contamination and lead to house prices plunging.
  So the Advertising Standards Authority asked for proof. There wasn’t any. It was all made up and now FOE has been forced to withdraw the ad.
  It could always start a new charity called FOL (Friends Of The Liars). Be closer to the truth.
• NOT only do Holland & Barrett dupe their customers through the size of their plastic bottles (Monday’s column) but I now learn that the 100 vitamin D tablets they charge £2.95 for can be bought in most chemists for 99p.
• I FELT I didn’t want for anything so I told my family that socks would be fine for Christmas. Twenty-three pairs later I have resolved that next time I will ask for Ferraris.

Death and no taxes

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HAVE just discovered that George Michael’s accountant was my old chum Stephen Marks of the New Bond Street firm SRLV (various column items), who got many of their clients into film tax schemes but have never taken responsibility themselves.

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Do hope George isn’t taking any advice beyond the grave.

PS. I heard via a previously trustworthy route that George Michael died two days before it was officially announced.

Is it fake news or is there something mysterious going on?

I think we should be told.

Car thief caller left Laurie stumped

WERE I the advertising agency for We Buy Any Car, I would drop their TV campaign explaining they pay less but there is more certainty of the cash, and instead focus on the astonishing story of professional cricketer Laurie Evans.

Evans, aged 29, advertised his £24,995 Mercedes E-Class on Auto Trader. Up turns some chap outside his girlfriend’s home in Oxted, Surrey, shows interest and suddenly he whisks the car off the drive and is never seen again.

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Of course Evans, who is moving from Warwickshire to Sussex county cricket club, was naive in allowing the thief access to the keys but I wonder how many other Auto Trader advertisers have suffered in the same way (perhaps they might like to drop me an email).

If I were We Buy Any Car, I would put together similar video tales and start buying airtime. And if I were Auto Trader I would consider changing my name to Auto Tracker.

OWNERS of holiday lets have been warned to vet their bookings after police discovered more than a dozen pop-up brothels in Newquay.

Clearly among the male population of Cornwall there seems to be quite a lot of popping up going on right now.