Carey Mulligan criticises government delay to charity aid

An international charity working to prevent children being trafficked from Afghanistan says a delay to promised UK government funding is "devastating".

The government had agreed to pay War Child £500,000 from July this year in a much-publicised donation match scheme.

But they now say they will not pay out the money until April 2022.

Actress Carey Mulligan, a patron of War Child, said the "damaging decision" needed reversing - but the government said it had to take "tough" decisions.

"The children at risk of abuse and exploitation need our support now not next year," the star of the Great Gatsby and Promising Young Woman told BBC Two's Newsnight.

The government must "keep their word to the public who donated so generously in such a challenging year, and most importantly the children we all committed to helping", she added.

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UK Aid Match is a government scheme which is designed to allow the British public have a say in how UK aid is spent overseas, whilst helping the poorest people in developing countries.

For every £1 donated to a UK Aid Match charity appeal, the UK government will also contribute £1 of UK aid, up to £2 million.

Last year War Child launched an urgent appeal in Afghanistan, which it said would have reached 3,430 children and their families.

They raised £500,000 from the public and the additional funding from the government was due to be used to reunite children with their families and build two multipurpose support centres in the local community to provide training, help children return to formal education.

War Child chief executive Rob Williams told Newsnight: "A delay of a year is a disaster and it is a major breach of faith because all those people who raised money in response to the government's promise that they would match the money have basically been let down."

"Whilst the government might think a delay of a year is a reasonable proposition, the project means that we won't be able to stop about three thousand children being trafficked into Iran over the next 12 months or so," he added.

Government sources told Newsnight that all affected charities have been given cast iron guarantees that they will receive the money next year.

Newsnight's Political Editor Nick Watt said that, in Whitehall, that is seen as significant in light of what is described as difficult spending decisions.

War Child works to help the thousands of Afghan children, some as young as eight, who every year are forced to leave their families in search of work. After decades of war in the country, many families have little financial security and parents stay at home to care for the youngest in their families.

Children cross the border to Iran on dangerous journeys to find work to support their families and are left vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.

In a statement, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: "The seismic impact of the pandemic on the UK economy has forced us to take tough but necessary decisions, including temporarily reducing the overall amount we spend on aid.

"We will still spend more than £10 billion this year to and improve global health, fight poverty and tackle climate change.

"We have protected War Child's UK Aid Match funding because we value their work and the results they will deliver.

"All UK Aid Match commitments will be protected, as set out in the foreign secretary's written ministerial statement. In some cases there will be a delay in releasing the guaranteed funding".

Following the economic shock of the coronavirus crisis, the chancellor last November cut the UK foreign aid budget from 0.7% to 0.5% of total national income - a reduction of around £4bn.

Rishi Sunak said the government had to make "tough choices". Even with the reduction UK is still be the second-highest aid donor in the G7 group of major economies.

BBC Newsnight is on BBC Two at 22:45 BST.