ANNELIESE DODDS quit as international development minister today over the government’s decision to cut overseas aid to boost defence spending.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer recently announced plans to raise the defence budget to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027, with a target of reaching 3 per cent in the next Parliament.

The move will be financed by slashing Overseas Development Assistance from 0.5 to 0.3 per cent of gross national income.

In her resignation letter, Ms Dodds said there were no “easy paths” to increase defence spending, but warned the move could weaken Britain’s support for Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine and risk damaging the country’s standing in multilateral bodies.

She posted on X: “I continue to support the government and its determination to deliver the change our country needs.”

In her letter, Dodds said she had delayed her resignation until after the PM’s trip to Washington to meet US President Donald Trump, who has been pressuring European nations to increase defence spending.

She said she had expected there would also be discussions about reaching the spending target by looking at fiscal rules and taxation, rather than placing the entire burden on overseas aid.