Rory Stewart delivers a statement on his appointment as Secretary of State for International Development.
Stewart, the former prisons minister, who was appointed to his new role on Wednesday night after Penny Mordaunt replaced the sacked Gavin Williamson as defence minister, also pledged to put climate change at the heart of his work.
While Mordaunt was an aid budget sceptic who wanted to overhaul the way the Department for International Development (DfID) spends money, Stewart identified the foreign aid target as “hugely important”. His stance stands in stark contrast to that of his predecessor, who believed the 0.7% target was unsustainable and called for programmes to be jointly funded with other departments, and for greater private sector investment.
"I'm so excited to be the International Development Secretary" – @RoryStewartUK speaking to @SophyRidgeSky on @RidgeonSunday earlier. #Ridge pic.twitter.com/deE5ZcNDZk — DFID (@DFID_UK) May 5, 2019
"I'm so excited to be the International Development Secretary" – @RoryStewartUK speaking to @SophyRidgeSky on @RidgeonSunday earlier. #Ridge pic.twitter.com/deE5ZcNDZk
— DFID (@DFID_UK) May 5, 2019
International Development Secretary Rory Stewart said:
“I am deeply honoured to return to the Department For International Development as International Development Secretary.
“I have spent a lot of my life working abroad, and in international development, and I was lucky enough to work for the Department previously. I am delighted to be back.
“DFID is at the heart of the world’s most pressing issues, such as tackling climate change, disease and humanitarian disasters.
DfID has said it is committed to spending £3.6bn on climate change between 2016/17 and 2020/21. The government’s overall budget on climate change over the same period is £5.8bn.
Aid charities welcomed Stewart’s appointment.
“I would argue spending 0.7 per cent makes a difference, not just to the developing world, but to the UK as well. We all breathe the same air and tackling issues like climate change matters to us all. The UK cannot solve such problems alone.
“We should be proud of Britain’s role globally. Our relationship with the world is evolving. The aid budget is helping to ensure the UK is a key global player, able to influence and shape our world.”
