A £14million jail in Somalia... and you're paying for it! British taxpayers fund prison for terrorists and pirates in African country

Overseas aid will reach 0.7 per cent of British GDP this year

It is one of the highest levels in the Western world

Somalia will be spending money on revamping a jail to hold militants

Senior military figures have warned David Cameron not to cut the foreign aid budget - even as it emerged British taxpayers will fund a £14million new jail in Somalia.
Nine prominent figures including former chiefs of the defence staff Sir Mike Richards and Lord Stirrup say international aid is ‘crucial to the UK’s national interests.’
They wrote in an open letter that aid addresses the ‘root causes of conflict’ and helps to spread effective government in failing states - to stop them becoming lawless.

Money for Mogadishu: Somalia will receive British aid to put towards a prison for militants and criminals

The Prime Minister, who is facing bitter opposition from Tory MPs over foreign aid, has made clear he is open to suggestions to divert some of it to the Ministry of Defence.
But the defence chiefs, including former security minister and head of the Royal Navy, Lord West, oppose such a plan advocating it should remain separate.

 

They say ‘the military is rarely decisive on its own’ and the root causes of conflict and extremism should be tackled with ‘focused and accountable international development spending.’
‘If Britain is to punch its weight on the international stage, it is essential both to fund defence properly and to maintain our internationally respected pledge to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on aid to help the world’s poorest people’, they wrote.
Overseas aid will reach 0.7 per cent of GDP - one of the highest levels in the Western world - this year, having risen every year under the Coalition.

Conflicting advice: David Cameron has been advised by senior military figures not to cut the aid budget

But it has been plagued by reports it is being misused by corrupt governments. The largest beneficiary Pakistan, which will receive £446million next year - collects tax from just one per cent of its people.

Aid has been cut off to India - worth around £200million a year - as it has enough money for its own space programme.
The debate around foreign aid - which has been ring-fenced while other department face swingeing budget cuts - has been sharpened ahead of this week’s Spending Review.
Departments must find £11.5billion of spending cuts and several are yet to settle with the Treasury on where the axe will fall.
It emerged over the weekend that Britain is spending £14million of rebuilding a 180-year-old jail in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, to hold 700 inmates including terrorists and pirates.
The pot of taxpayers’ money will also fund mobile criminal courts in the country which is plagued by al-Qaeda linked militants.
It is hoped this will make it easier to deport more than 400 Somali criminals currently in UK jails because there is nowhere to detain them in their home country.
International Development Secretary Justine Greening said: ‘By building jail places and courts in Somalia we can help our African allies challenge terror and crime on their own doorstep so less ends up on ours.’