Liz Truss Response To Pakistan Floods Slammed As Abnormal

In a letter to Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, IDC chair Sarah Champion said the support of up to £1.5m announced last week amounted to less than £5m for each person affected by extreme rainfall which has destroyed at least 700,000 homes. Mrs Champion said she felt embarrassed by the “passively small” level of help offered. And he said the decision to deduct the amount from existing support to Pakistan meant the UK was providing virtually “nothing”. He demanded an urgent statement on the disaster from Ms Truss as soon as parliament returns from its summer break on Monday. Ms Champion said the response to the floods reflected a policy of “perpetual indifference” by Boris Johnson’s government towards Pakistan, which has fallen from first to seventh in the list of recipients of UK bilateral aid since 2019. Foreign Minister Lord Ahmad said last week that his “thoughts and prayers” were with the millions of people affected by the floods which have reportedly submerged a third of Pakistan’s land. “The UK stands with the people of Pakistan in this time of need,” he said. And Mr Johnson said on Tuesday: “Our sympathies are very much with the people of Pakistan and we have seen the devastation there and it is absolutely shocking. “Pakistan has traditionally been one of the largest recipients of British overseas aid. We will of course make sure to send an appropriate package commensurate with the vital relationship that exists between the UK and Pakistan and the natural sympathy people have for those affected by the floods.” But Mrs Champion told Mrs Truss in her letter: “Given the scale and impact of the flooding, I was embarrassed to read the Government’s announcement on 27 August 2022 of ‘up to £1.5m from the UK’ in humanitarian funding . . “Even if the full £1.5m is handed over, it would amount to less than 5p for each person affected. “Furthermore, this pitiful little amount will be deducted from the ‘existing support to Pakistan’. The UK Government’s apt response to this humanitarian disaster has arguably been second to none.” Ms Champion said Ms Truss had failed to respond to a report published by her cross-party committee four months ago which highlighted the impact of cuts to British aid to Pakistan. “This government has implemented a policy of permanent indifference to Pakistan,” he said. “Historically, Pakistan has been a priority country for UK development spending. Between 2015 and 2019, it was the UK’s largest recipient of bilateral ODA. “However, British aid funding to Pakistan has been cut dramatically. Pakistan has fallen to seventh place in the UK’s list of bilateral aid recipients because it has seen the biggest single cut in its budget of any country.’ There was no immediate response from the Foreign Office to a request for comment from The Independent.

title: “Liz Truss Response To Pakistan Floods Slammed As Abnormal Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-30” author: “Betty Deininger”

In a letter to Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, IDC chair Sarah Champion said the support of up to £1.5m announced last week amounted to less than £5m for each person affected by extreme rainfall which has destroyed at least 700,000 homes. Mrs Champion said she felt embarrassed by the “passively small” level of help offered. And he said the decision to deduct the amount from existing support to Pakistan meant the UK was providing virtually “nothing”. He demanded an urgent statement on the disaster from Ms Truss as soon as parliament returns from its summer break on Monday. Ms Champion said the response to the floods reflected a policy of “perpetual indifference” by Boris Johnson’s government towards Pakistan, which has fallen from first to seventh in the list of recipients of UK bilateral aid since 2019. Foreign Minister Lord Ahmad said last week that his “thoughts and prayers” were with the millions of people affected by the floods which have reportedly submerged a third of Pakistan’s land. “The UK stands with the people of Pakistan in this time of need,” he said. And Mr Johnson said on Tuesday: “Our sympathies are very much with the people of Pakistan and we have seen the devastation there and it is absolutely shocking. “Pakistan has traditionally been one of the largest recipients of British overseas aid. We will of course make sure to send an appropriate package commensurate with the vital relationship that exists between the UK and Pakistan and the natural sympathy people have for those affected by the floods.” But Mrs Champion told Mrs Truss in her letter: “Given the scale and impact of the flooding, I was embarrassed to read the Government’s announcement on 27 August 2022 of ‘up to £1.5m from the UK’ in humanitarian funding . . “Even if the full £1.5m is handed over, it would amount to less than 5p for each person affected. “Furthermore, this pitiful little amount will be deducted from the ‘existing support to Pakistan’. The UK Government’s apt response to this humanitarian disaster has arguably been second to none.” Ms Champion said Ms Truss had failed to respond to a report published by her cross-party committee four months ago which highlighted the impact of cuts to British aid to Pakistan. “This government has implemented a policy of permanent indifference to Pakistan,” he said. “Historically, Pakistan has been a priority country for UK development spending. Between 2015 and 2019, it was the UK’s largest recipient of bilateral ODA. “However, British aid funding to Pakistan has been cut dramatically. Pakistan has fallen to seventh place in the UK’s list of bilateral aid recipients because it has seen the biggest single cut in its budget of any country.’ There was no immediate response from the Foreign Office to a request for comment from The Independent.

title: “Liz Truss Response To Pakistan Floods Slammed As Abnormal Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-19” author: “Barbara Sontag”

In a letter to Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, IDC chair Sarah Champion said the support of up to £1.5m announced last week amounted to less than £5m for each person affected by extreme rainfall which has destroyed at least 700,000 homes. Mrs Champion said she felt embarrassed by the “passively small” level of help offered. And he said the decision to deduct the amount from existing support to Pakistan meant the UK was providing virtually “nothing”. He demanded an urgent statement on the disaster from Ms Truss as soon as parliament returns from its summer break on Monday. Ms Champion said the response to the floods reflected a policy of “perpetual indifference” by Boris Johnson’s government towards Pakistan, which has fallen from first to seventh in the list of recipients of UK bilateral aid since 2019. Foreign Minister Lord Ahmad said last week that his “thoughts and prayers” were with the millions of people affected by the floods which have reportedly submerged a third of Pakistan’s land. “The UK stands with the people of Pakistan in this time of need,” he said. And Mr Johnson said on Tuesday: “Our sympathies are very much with the people of Pakistan and we have seen the devastation there and it is absolutely shocking. “Pakistan has traditionally been one of the largest recipients of British overseas aid. We will of course make sure to send an appropriate package commensurate with the vital relationship that exists between the UK and Pakistan and the natural sympathy people have for those affected by the floods.” But Mrs Champion told Mrs Truss in her letter: “Given the scale and impact of the flooding, I was embarrassed to read the Government’s announcement on 27 August 2022 of ‘up to £1.5m from the UK’ in humanitarian funding . . “Even if the full £1.5m is handed over, it would amount to less than 5p for each person affected. “Furthermore, this pitiful little amount will be deducted from the ‘existing support to Pakistan’. The UK Government’s apt response to this humanitarian disaster has arguably been second to none.” Ms Champion said Ms Truss had failed to respond to a report published by her cross-party committee four months ago which highlighted the impact of cuts to British aid to Pakistan. “This government has implemented a policy of permanent indifference to Pakistan,” he said. “Historically, Pakistan has been a priority country for UK development spending. Between 2015 and 2019, it was the UK’s largest recipient of bilateral ODA. “However, British aid funding to Pakistan has been cut dramatically. Pakistan has fallen to seventh place in the UK’s list of bilateral aid recipients because it has seen the biggest single cut in its budget of any country.’ There was no immediate response from the Foreign Office to a request for comment from The Independent.

title: “Liz Truss Response To Pakistan Floods Slammed As Abnormal Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-26” author: “Rene Petch”

In a letter to Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, IDC chair Sarah Champion said the support of up to £1.5m announced last week amounted to less than £5m for each person affected by extreme rainfall which has destroyed at least 700,000 homes. Mrs Champion said she felt embarrassed by the “passively small” level of help offered. And he said the decision to deduct the amount from existing support to Pakistan meant the UK was providing virtually “nothing”. He demanded an urgent statement on the disaster from Ms Truss as soon as parliament returns from its summer break on Monday. Ms Champion said the response to the floods reflected a policy of “perpetual indifference” by Boris Johnson’s government towards Pakistan, which has fallen from first to seventh in the list of recipients of UK bilateral aid since 2019. Foreign Minister Lord Ahmad said last week that his “thoughts and prayers” were with the millions of people affected by the floods which have reportedly submerged a third of Pakistan’s land. “The UK stands with the people of Pakistan in this time of need,” he said. And Mr Johnson said on Tuesday: “Our sympathies are very much with the people of Pakistan and we have seen the devastation there and it is absolutely shocking. “Pakistan has traditionally been one of the largest recipients of British overseas aid. We will of course make sure to send an appropriate package commensurate with the vital relationship that exists between the UK and Pakistan and the natural sympathy people have for those affected by the floods.” But Mrs Champion told Mrs Truss in her letter: “Given the scale and impact of the flooding, I was embarrassed to read the Government’s announcement on 27 August 2022 of ‘up to £1.5m from the UK’ in humanitarian funding . . “Even if the full £1.5m is handed over, it would amount to less than 5p for each person affected. “Furthermore, this pitiful little amount will be deducted from the ‘existing support to Pakistan’. The UK Government’s apt response to this humanitarian disaster has arguably been second to none.” Ms Champion said Ms Truss had failed to respond to a report published by her cross-party committee four months ago which highlighted the impact of cuts to British aid to Pakistan. “This government has implemented a policy of permanent indifference to Pakistan,” he said. “Historically, Pakistan has been a priority country for UK development spending. Between 2015 and 2019, it was the UK’s largest recipient of bilateral ODA. “However, British aid funding to Pakistan has been cut dramatically. Pakistan has fallen to seventh place in the UK’s list of bilateral aid recipients because it has seen the biggest single cut in its budget of any country.’ There was no immediate response from the Foreign Office to a request for comment from The Independent.