Christian leaders of international aid charities have expressed disbelief and outrage after U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Feb. 25, 2025, that the country’s overseas aid budget would be cut to fund the largest increase in defense spending since the end of the Cold War.
Starmer confirmed that defense spending will rise to 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2027, with plans to further increase it to 3% in the next British Parliament.
However, to meet this initial military goal, the overseas aid budget will be reduced from 0.5% to 0.3% of GDP. Starmer projected that the changes will generate an additional £13.4 billion ($17 billion) for defense by 2027. However, U.K. Defence Secretary John Healey later reportedly clarified that the real-term savings, accounting for inflation, would be “something over £6 billion ($7.6 billion).”
In his statement announcing the changes, Starmer recalled witnessing the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 as a young man, an event that seemed to signal a new world order. “It felt as if we were casting off the shackles of history: a continent united by freedom and democracy,” he said.
“If you had told me then that in my lifetime we would see Russian tanks rolling into European cities again, I would not have believed you,” Starmer said, outlining how the threat posed by the Russian Federation under President Vladimir Putin necessitated an expansion of the U.K.’s defense capabilities. “Yet here we are in a world where everything has changed because three years ago, in Ukraine, that is exactly what happened.”
Recalling the widespread support for Ukraine in the U.K., Starmer said the nature of the conflict had shifted in recent weeks, requiring a more focused response—a remark seemingly referencing U.S. President Donald Trump’s widely reported warmer attitude towards Russia. “Tyrants like Putin only respond to strength,” he added.
“And I believe we must now change our approach to national security. So we are ready to meet the challenges of our volatile world. The reason for this is straightforward: Putin’s aggression does not stop in Ukraine. Russian spy ships menace our waters. Russian planes enter our airspace. Russian cyber-attacks hit our NHS [National Health Service]. And just seven years ago – there was a Russian chemical weapons attack, in broad daylight on the streets of Salisbury [a town in south west England]. We can’t hide from this.”
The prime minister said such an investment could only be funded through “hard choices” and that meant cutting spending on overseas development to meet the costs of defense.
“I want to be clear — that this is not an announcement I am happy to make. I am proud of Britain’s pioneering record on overseas development. And we will continue to play a key humanitarian role in war-torn countries like Sudan, Ukraine and Gaza, in tackling climate change, and supporting international efforts on global health challenges like vaccination.
“And we will do everything to move towards a world where we can rebuild our development capacity. However, the realities of our dangerous new era mean that the defence and national security of our country must always come first.”
The announcement has prompted Christian leaders of U.K.-based aid agencies to express their outrage in posts on the business networking site LinkedIn.
Nigel Harris, chief executive at Christian aid agency Tearfund, called the decision to slash the “already strained” U.K. aid budget “appalling.” He claimed that the decision will lead to families around the world suffering hunger, children missing out on school and the sidelining of women’s rights.
“It is a devastating blow to the world’s most vulnerable communities and a betrayal of the UK’s own interests,” he said. “At a time of unprecedented humanitarian suffering, drastically cutting overseas aid is indefensible and short sighted. It undermines hard won gains and signals a retreat from tackling extreme poverty, conflict and global health crises.”
Harris believed now is a time for the U.K. to step up to its global responsibilities and he compared this to the government’s actions, saying the ruling Labour party has broken its election manifesto by cutting aid. He also said these actions undermined the credibility of the country and any claims to be a world leader on development and combatting climate change.
“The aid budget saves lives around the world; cutting it will result in more deaths, more disease, and more conflict,” Harris added.
Anna Laszlo, Tearfund's board chair, echoed similar concerns about the government’s announcement.
“The UK government’s decision today to cut aid spending in order to increase its defence spending is both outrageous and disgraceful,” Laszlo said.
“At a time when hunger and poverty are being exacerbated by new and entrenched conflicts and human induced climate change, and where massive amounts of money have just been pulled from the development system, the UK should be looking to step up, not step back, in support of the most vulnerable in this world."
Laszlo added that the government should be “ashamed” at the decision made.
“It has not made ‘a hard choice’ here, as Keir Starmer claims, but has [made] the easiest choice available — cuts that will harm those with the least voice and ability to speak out against them.
“In Labour’s manifesto they promised to ‘turn the page to rebuild Britain’s reputation on international development with a new approach.’ That noble intention has lasted a matter of months, and fallen at the first test.”
Matt Barlow, chief executive officer of Church Army UK & Ireland, responded to Laszlo’s comments on LinkedIn expressing his full agreement.
“I'm no fan of increased defence spending, but if it has to happen, it shouldn't be paid for by those with the least,” added Barlow. “Very disappointed that this Labour government will make this so-called 'hard choice'.”
Jennifer Larbie, head of UK Advocacy and Campaigns for Christian Aid, called the government's decision a “political choice.”
“The world’s most vulnerable and defenceless people are not responsible for the UK’s defence,” Larbie said. “These communities are already paying with their lives and livelihoods for a climate crisis they did not cause and are spending more on unjust debt then they are on education, health and climate breakdown.”
Larbie called upon the Labour Government to oppose the precedent set by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has also cut the U.S. international budget, causing concern among evangelical leaders, as previously reported by Christian Daily International.
“Rather than just fold into Trump’s so-called new world order, we need leadership that will challenge it,” said Larbie.
Peter Waddup, chief executive of The Leprosy Mission, said he felt “stunned” by the “cruel act of taking aid from the world's poorest people.”
“When global poverty is at a record high, we are literally taking food from the mouths of the hungriest people," he said.
