Portsmouth MP Penny Mordaunt set to lay down the law on international aid spending today

Ms Mordaunt, the Conservative MP for Portsmouth North, will set out a new approach to how the Department for International Development (DfID) delivers aid in Britain’s interests while fulfilling international obligations.

The speech comes after a series of high-profile cases rocked the charitable sector, including allegations of sexual abuse by aid workers in developing countries.

At an event in London, Ms Mordaunt is expected to say Britain’s foreign aid budget should be delivered in a way that ‘promotes and defends national interests efficiently’.

‘It must deliver on both the core purpose of Official Development Assistance (OECD targets) and also on the public’s concerns,’ the minister is expected to say.

‘Our new development offer needs to be a national mission we can unite behind.

‘It should unashamedly have British values at its heart. And it should be fit for the world as it is today.

‘We have a moral obligation to both the people we seek to help, and those who enable us to do so, to get the best value for money and most positive impact for every pound we spend.’