Britain’s foreign aid department should be axed over its ‘out of control’ spending, claims one of its former ministers

THE UK’s foreign aid department should be axed, one of its former ministers has claimed.

Ex DfID minister Grant Shapps slammed “out of control” spending and called for the Foreign Office to take over its responsibilities.

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The Tory MP said officials had a “profoundly worrying” tendency to “shovel cash out of the door”.

Writing in , Mr Shapps said the department sees its remit as spending cash, “regardless of Britain’s other national objectives”.

He said: “If we continue to spend cash with so little reference to our own national interests, or indeed sometimes the interests of the populations of the recipient countries, then we will risk forfeiting British taxpayers’ consent.

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“To avoid that danger, we need to rejoin the work of DfID to that of the Foreign Office — either through joint ministers or by the departments coming back together.

“In the past there has been much talk of an ethical foreign aid policy. There is nothing ethical about the situation as it exists today. It is time to make a change.”

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Mr Shapps said he was proud of Britain’s help  for the world’s poorest and supported David Cameron’s commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of GDP on aid.

But he argued not all the money was being “spent wisely”.

And he criticised the allocation of large payments to international funds to ensure the spending target was made.

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He also claimed he tried to throw out the £5.2m grant to the “Ethiopian Spice Girls” because it was “obviously open to utter ridicule”.

But he said he was overruled by then International Development Secretary Justine Greening.

A DfID spokesman said: “There is no task more urgent than defeating poverty. Helping the poorest with UK aid is the right thing to do, making the world safer, healthier and more prosperous.

“The Prime Minister has been clear that, as we exit the EU, Britain will be more, not less, outward-looking and engaged on the world stage.”