Starmer urged to attend UN summit and back plans to tackle global debt crisis
More than 80 charity leaders and campaigners have written to Keir Starmer urging him to attend a UN global development conference and back plans to reduce the debt payments made by poor countries.
World leaders including the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, are expected at the Financing for Development conference – known as FfD4 - in Seville later this month.
The campaigners claim that in negotiations between participating countries, the UK, together with others including the US, has blocked proposals for a new UN intergovernmental process to tackle the debt crisis in the global south.
Signatories to the letter include the heads of Christian Aid, Oxfam GB, Save the Children UK, ActionAid and Unicef UK.
'We are deeply concerned about the UK's position to systematically block any significant reform of the debt architecture within the FfD4 negotiations thus far. This approach risks putting this government on the wrong side of history and risks further damaging the UK's reputation as a development partner,' it says.
The development minister Jenny Chapman has insisted the UK will continue to take a lead on international development, despite slashing the aid budget to fund higher defence spending. Under its party manifesto, Labour pledged to 'repair relationships with developing countries and to restore the UK's role on the international development stage'.
Romilly Greenhill, the chief executive of the aid umbrella group Bond, which coordinated the letter, said: 'Following the shortsighted decision to cut the UK aid budget, this government has a responsibility to step up and take decisive action on debt.'
She added: 'The UK must stand in solidarity with countries hardest hit by the unjust debt crisis. Supporting their calls is vital – not just for the global majority, but for a fairer, more stable future for everyone.'
Patrick Watt, the chief executive of Christian Aid, said: 'The UK cannot build real partnerships with the global south while blocking the very reforms those countries are calling for. At FfD4, the government has a choice: stand in solidarity with countries facing debt and climate crises, or cling to outdated power structures that continue to extract more than they give.'
The letter calls on Starmer to 'ensure that the UK government demonstrates that it is ready to lead on debt on the global stage' by supporting the idea of a UN process. 'This is urgently needed for agreeing just, timely, and lasting debt relief and preventing future debt crises,' the letter adds.
With the UK a common jurisdiction for the contracts that govern sovereign debt, the government is also being urged to pass legislation to force private sector creditors to bear their fair share of any debt relief programmes.
The letter to Starmer says: 'Reforming UK debt legislation and supporting global financial reform costs the UK taxpayer nothing, all that is required is your willingness to lead.'
The World Bank estimates more than half of low-income countries are either already in debt distress or at high risk of it, and its chief economist has warned that outside Asia, the developing world risks becoming 'a development-free zone'.
Sign up to Business Today
Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning
after newsletter promotion
Countries struggling to meet their debt obligations can already apply for relief through a process known as the common framework, which is administered by the International Monetary Fund, but critics complain that it can take years.
A UK government spokesperson said: 'We remain deeply committed to supporting developing countries to tackle unsustainable debt and continue to work with them to address both the immediate challenges, and the underlying drivers.
'We look forward to working through a full spectrum of development finance issues, alongside our partners at the conference in Seville later this month.'
They spokesperson added that the UK would be represented by a minister at the meeting.
Global efforts to tackle poverty have taken a significant blow from the deep cuts in overseas aid budgets made by Donald Trump's administration, which has all but dismantled its aid agency, USAID.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
35 minutes ago
- The Independent
Fraudulent City boss ordered to pay back £64 million
A City boss compared to the The Wolf Of Wall Street has been ordered to pay back £64 million over his role in a multi-million pound Ponzi-style investment scam, prosecutors said. Anthony Constantinou remains on the run after he fled the UK during his fraud trial at London's Southwark Crown Court in June 2023. Hundreds of investors were duped out of a total of £70 million between 2013 and 2015 while he ran Capital World Markets (CWM). A spokesman for City of London Police said a confiscation order was made against him on Thursday for the sum of £64 million, which is payable within three months. The default period of imprisonment was set at 14 years. Police released photographs of some of the luxury vehicles Constantinou spent his fraudulent money on, including a Porsche, Range Rover and luxury motorbike. They previously said he was thought to be in Turkey or Dubai after being stopped in Bulgaria with a fake Spanish passport. CWM had high-profile sponsorship deals with the Honda Moto GP, Chelsea Football Club, Wigan Warriors rugby league club, Cyclone Boxing Promotions and the London Boat Show. The seven-week trial heard how Constantinou spent £2.5 million of investors' money on his 'no expense spared' wedding on the Greek island of Santorini in September 2014, while his son's first birthday party a few days earlier cost more than £70,000. More than £470,000 was paid for private jet hire to fly him and his associates to Moto GP races across Europe as well as a return flight to Nice for a 150,000-euro five-day yacht cruise around the Mediterranean to Monaco. The firm paid £200,000 a quarter to rent 'plush' offices in the City's Heron Tower, while nearly £600,000 was spent on just six months' rent of his large home in Hampstead, north-west London, where his luxury cars were parked in the drive. Promised returns of 60% per year on risk-free foreign exchange (FX) markets, a total of 312 investors trusted their money to CWM. Some were professionals but most were individuals who handed over their life savings or pension pots, with a large number of Gurkhas paying into the scheme, said prosecutor David Durose KC. Constantinou denied wrongdoing but was found guilty of one count of fraud, two counts of fraudulent trading and four counts of money laundering and sentenced to 14 years in prison in his absence. Adrian Foster, of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: 'This was a callous scam targeting members of the public. Many people lost their hard-earned money because of Constantinou's greed and false promises in this fake investment scheme. 'We continue to pursue the proceeds of crime robustly with the City of London Police, where we identify available assets to disrupt and deter large-scale frauds like this case. 'In the last five years, over £478 million has been recovered from CPS obtained confiscation orders, ensuring that thousands of convicted criminals cannot profit from their offending. £95 million of that amount has been returned to victims of crime, by way of compensation.' Constantinou was previously jailed for a year at the Old Bailey in 2016 after being found guilty of sexually assaulting two women during after-work drinks. One of the victims described how the parties were just like the raucous scenes depicted in Martin Scorsese's The Wolf Of Wall Street, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as rogue New York trader Jordan Belfort.
The Independent
39 minutes ago
- The Independent
Palestine Action to be banned after break-in at RAF base
The Home Secretary is preparing to ban Palestine Action following the group's vandalism of two planes at an RAF base, the PA news agency understands. Yvette Cooper has decided to proscribe the group, making it a criminal offence to belong to or support Palestine Action. The decision comes after the group posted footage online showing two people inside the base at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. The clip shows one person riding an electric scooter up to an Airbus Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker and appearing to spray paint into its jet engine. The incident is being also investigated by counter terror police. The Home Secretary has the power to proscribe an organisation under the Terrorism Act of 2000 if she believes it is 'concerned in terrorism'. Proscription will require Ms Cooper to lay an order in Parliament, which must then be debated and approved by both MPs and peers. Some 81 organisations have been proscribed under the 2000 Act, including Islamist terrorist groups such as Hamas and al Qaida, far-right groups such as National Action, and Russian private military company Wagner Group. Another 14 organisations connected with Northern Ireland are also banned under previous legislation, including the IRA and UDA. Belonging to or expressing support for a proscribed organisation, along with a number of other actions, are criminal offences carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. Friday's incident at Brize Norton, described by the Prime Minister as 'disgraceful', prompted calls for Palestine Action to be banned. The group has staged a series of demonstrations in recent months, including spraying the London offices of Allianz Insurance with red paint over its alleged links to Israeli defence company Elbit, and vandalising Donald Trump's Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire. The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) welcomed the news that Ms Cooper intended to proscribe the group, saying: 'Nobody should be surprised that those who vandalised Jewish premises with impunity have now been emboldened to sabotage RAF jets.' CAA chief executive Gideon Falter urged the Home Secretary to proscribe the Houthi rebel group and Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, adding: 'This country needs to clamp down on the domestic and foreign terrorists running amok on our soil.' Former home secretary Suella Braverman said it was 'absolutely the correct decision'.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Liverpool complete £100m club-record signing of Florian Wirtz
Premier League champions Liverpool have completed the £100million club-record signing of Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen. The deal for the 22-year-old Germany international could potentially become a British record as there are £16m of add-ons included, which would surpass the existing mark of £115m which Chelsea paid for Moises Caicedo in 2023. It is understood Liverpool will be happy to pay these 'aspirational bonuses' as it will mean they have enjoyed considerable success at elite level. Wirtz has signed a five-year contract and the capture of one of Europe's most highly-rated talents is seen as a significant coup for the club having initially faced competition from Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. Leverkusen had valued Wirtz at £126m but a compromise was reached last week, although the up-front fee easily outstrips the £85m deal Liverpool agreed with Benfica in 2022 for Darwin Nunez, who is expected to leave this summer. Wirtz is Liverpool's second signing of the summer, following close friend and Leverkusen team-mate Jeremie Frimpong to Anfield, and with the Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Marmadashvilli joining next month after a deal was agreed a year ago spending has already reached £175m. That is set to be pushed beyond the £200m mark with a £40m fee agreed for Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez. It is their biggest summer window since 2018 when Naby Keita, Fabinho, Xherdan Shaqiri and Alisson Becker were recruited for around £170m, with Virgil van Dijk having signed for £75m the previous January. Owners Fenway Sports Group have, despite their 'Moneyball' reputation, not been afraid to splash out big fees for transformative players like Van Dijk and Alisson – and Wirtz falls into that category. The club have already recouped around £26m with the departures of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Caoimhin Kelleher with further funds expected to be generated from the likes of Nunez, Harvey Elliott, Federico Chiesa and potentially Andy Robertson, who is a target for Atletico Madrid. 'I feel very happy and very proud. I was waiting for a long time – finally it's done and I am really happy,' Wirtz told the club's website. 'I'm really excited to have a new adventure in front of me. This was also a big point of my thoughts: that I want to have something completely new, to go out of the Bundesliga and to join the Premier League. 'I will see how I can perform there. I hope I can do my best. I spoke also with some players who played there and they told me that it's perfect for me and every pitch is perfect, you can enjoy every game. I'm really looking forward to playing my first game. 'I would like to win everything every year! First of all, we have to do our work, I have to make my work. 'In the end, we want to be successful. Last season they won the Premier League so my goal is for sure to win it again and also to go further in the Champions League. I'm really ambitious.'
