UK accused of hypocrisy at landmark UN foreign aid conference

Experts at the fourth Financing for Development Conference (FfD4) say the UK cannot talk up its role in helping developing nations while cutting aid commitments

Source: Nick Ferris, Wednesday 02 July 2025 16:06 BST

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The UK has been accused of “hypocrisy” over its lack of high-level participation at a key global development finance summit, on top of cuts to Britain’s aid budget – while talking up its role in helping lower-income nations.

The accusations have been made at the fourth Financing for Development Conference (FfD4), a once-a-decade summit happening all week in Seville, Southern Spain, where delegates are aiming to tackle the perennial problem of how to help developing countries access the money they need.

Thirty-two African countries currently spend more on debt repayments than on healthcare, and 25 African countries spend more on debt payments than on education, an issue that activists say needs urgent action.

Some 50 world leaders are due at FfD4, including Emmanuel Macron of France, Mark Carney of Canada, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. The UK, however, has only sent a government minister in the form of Baroness Chapman, the international development minister.

“A level of ambition from the UK government would have been demonstrated clearly by sending higher level participation such as the prime minister or Foreign Secretary,” Lydia Darby, a senior policy advisor at Save the Children, told The Independent