Diane Abbott
Main Page: Diane Abbott (Labour - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)Department Debates - View all Diane Abbott's debates with the Cabinet Office
(1 day, 13 hours ago)
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The Prime Minister
As I have said, when the deal is complete, I will put it before the House with the costings. The money yesterday was allocated to aid our capability and is the single biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the cold war.
Ms Diane Abbott (Hackney North and Stoke Newington) (Lab)
The whole country stands behind the people of Ukraine, but there is a view that taking money from aid and development to spend on armaments and tanks makes people less safe, not more safe, because the desperation and poverty that so often leads to warfare is what aid and development money is supposed to counter.
The Prime Minister
As I said yesterday, overseas development is important, and I am proud of what we have done. It was not a decision that I took lightly or wanted to take, but it is important at this moment that we put defence spending and the defence and security of our country and Europe uppermost. We will, of course, make sure that we are able to fulfil our humanitarian obligations in relation to Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan and other vital work. I want to be clear: we do of course want to go back and increase that funding as soon as we are able to do so.