Sir Keir Starmer is risking infuriating President Macron of France by refusing to contribute to an international fund to combat malnutrition set up by Britain after the London Olympics in 2012.
Macron’s team were said to have been “shocked” when the Foreign Office informed them that it would not commit any new money to the fund at a conference in Paris next month.
The decision is likely to worsen relations with France during efforts to reset Britain’s relationship with Europe. Last week Starmer sided with Donald Trump’s administration over Macron by refusing to sign a declaration on artificial intelligence at an AI summit in Paris.
Macron hopes to raise billions from 50 countries at the Nutrition for Growth summit in March, where he is due to give the opening speech. Britain met its pledge to spend £655 million on nutrition-specific programmes between 2013 and 2020. In 2022 the Conservatives committed the country to spending another £1.5 billion over eight years on tackling global malnutrition.
However, Foreign Office officials have made clear to French organisers that there will not be any pledge of further funding before the UK’s spending review has concluded in June, after the summit.
Brieuc Pont, a French diplomat and Macron’s special envoy on nutrition, visited London in December and has been told that Britain will arrive empty-handed to the conference. A source said: “Pont was shocked by the message that the UK would come to a summit that it organised with nothing. It is making the French seriously unhappy.”
Anneliese Dodds, the international development minister, told MPs this month that the spending review meant there would be no new money committed to the fund.
Anneliese Dodds, the international development minister
THOMAS KRYCH/ANADOLU VIA GETTY IMAGES
She said: “The spending review will look at whether there will be new money, continuing money or reduced money across the whole gamut of options. We are very well aware that the UK needs to make sure that we support communities in food insecurity, build resilience for the future for communities and, above all, work in partnership on this agenda.”
Dodds said she would be attending the summit and the department was “working right now on our approach”, but that it would not include “a specific figure” for aid because “we will not be through the spending review at that point”.
A government source insisted “it’s not all about the money” and said they did not rule out coming back with a commitment once the spending review concludes.
Unprotected departments have been told by the Treasury to model cuts of up to 11 per cent of their budgets, it was reported this week.
Jean-Michel Grand, the executive director of Action Against Hunger, said: “Good nutrition is essential for a healthy life, yet 2.8 billion people struggle to access it. With over 6 million children at risk of dying from malnutrition in the next decade, urgent action is needed.
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“The UK has an opportunity to tackle this crisis by working with global partners, and the upcoming Nutrition For Growth summit is a key moment for leadership. That’s why we’re calling on the UK government to commit an additional £500 million over five years to life-saving nutrition programmes, ensuring children get the treatment they desperately need.”
