MONEY FROM the UK’s department for international development was
siphoned off to pay part of the £10 million (€11.8 million) costs of
Pope Benedict’s visit to Scotland and England last September.
A
sum of £1.85 million (€2.17 million) was taken from the aid budget and
passed on to the foreign and commonwealth office, while almost £4
million more came from the department of energy and climate change to
cover security and other costs incurred during the visit.
Justifying
its decision to contribute to the costs, the department for
international development said the money had come from its
administration budget, rather than overseas development funds and
“recognised the Catholic Church’s role as a major provider of health and
education services in developing countries”.
Accusing the
department of providing “a lame excuse”, Liberal Democrat MP Malcolm
Bruce said its argument “may well be an argument for giving money to
projects run by the Catholic Church”, but it did not justify paying for a
papal state visit.
“The department for international development
should not be seen as a soft touch by other hard-pressed departments and
it should not be using its money in ways that are other than on its
mission statement – delivering for poor people in poor countries.
“It’s
impossible to see how any poor person in sub-Saharan Africa or anywhere
else in the world gets any benefit from this,” said Mr Bruce, who
chairs the international aid select committee.
Labour’s deputy
leader and shadow international development secretary Harriet Harman
said the foreign office should pay the money back.
“[The] money should
be [used] to tackle poverty and global inequality, not to support
foreign office diplomacy. The foreign office should pay it back.”
The
British Humanist Association, which strongly opposed taxpayers having
to pay for the Pope’s visit, sharply criticised the department for
agreeing to foreign office demands for money.
“It is irrational
and wrong for government to say the money was paid to recognise the work
that the Catholic Church does overseas as an NGO – questionable in
itself – when the money was used to fund the state visit,” said the
BHA’s Naomi Phillips.
“Most people, including Christians, did not
think that the British taxpayer should pay for the Pope’s visit in the
first place, many will be astonished to see the detrimental impact that
this illegitimate use of public funds has already made.”