Following pressure from Daily Express readers the Government admitted for the first time yesterday that the scale of Britain’s foreign aid budget has sparked “legitimate” concern among voters. 

International development secretary Penny Mordaunt has promised to take action against wealthier countries. 

In a tough message, Ms Mordaunt, 44, said: “I want the governments of developing countries to step up and take responsibilty for investing in their own people. 

“If they choose not to, that will inform our decisions around our funding.” 

Taxpayers are increasingly frustrated that the £13.4billion sent overseas every year includes vast sums to countries like Pakistan, India and China at a time when the NHS is struggling with winter pressures. 

Anger over the swollen aid budget has grown since the Daily Express highlighted a string of spending scandals – with 90,000 readers backing our Stop The Foreign Aid Madness crusade by signing coupons and 25,000 more signing an online petition demanding an immediate change in policy.

Ms Mordaunt said: “Nagging doubts persist for many about what we are doing, why we are doing it, and how we go about it. 

“It is not that people are ungenerous or uncaring. They care deeply about others around the world. What they question is the weight and resource given to this task by their parliament and their government, especially when there are domestic needs and a national debt to address.

“I understand those legitimate questions.” 

Signalling her intention to be more transparent, Ms Mordaunt said it will no longer be acceptable to simply say money has been well spent. Instead the Government will have to prove it “cannot be better spent” on anything else. 

Ms Mordaunt’s comments are the first acknowledgment that taxpayers are not getting value for money from a commitment that sees Britain spend 0.7 per cent of its national income on Overseas Development Assistance. 

But critics last night called for the legally binding target – introduced by former prime minister David Cameron – to be scrapped altogether. 

Tory MP Philip Davies said: “Just changing the spending from some countries to other countries does not address the fact that people want to see a chunk of the money spent in the UK, which is not something the minister can do, or is offering.” 

James Price, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, added: “Unfortunately, until we remove the ridiculous 0.7 per cent target, we will still have to shovel the same amount of cash out the door, even if we can’t find good places for it to go. 

“That is stupid and wrong.” 

In 2016 Britain handed £1.5billion in foreign aid to so-called “middle-income” countries, with Pakistan receiving £463million – equal to £1.2million a day – despite having space and nuclear weapons programmes; Nigeria £230million and Jordan £175million. 

Taxpayers have also given almost £100million to India and £46million to China, which wants to become the world’s biggest economy, and a further £53million to Brazil. 

Meanwhile, Britain is committed to spending £225million a year on family planning in the Third World until at least 2022, using money from the aid budget. 

Over the coming weeks Ms Mordaunt, who was promoted to aid secretary after Priti Patel was sacked in November, will set out the case for foreign aid, arguing it is necessary for Britain’s security and prosperity. 

Last week an independent poll commissioned by this newspaper showed 84 per cent of voters want the Government to divert foreign aid funds to help hospitals cope with the winter crisis. 

Analysis shows that if less than a tenth of the amount Britain spends on foreign aid each year went to the NHS frontline, it would fund three million stays in a hospital bed or 11 million visits to A&E. 

Daily Express reader Robert Barnes, 52, from Oldham, who set up the petition demanding some of the cash is diverted to help frontline services in the UK, said: “Better governance is welcome but… what the public would like to see is the abolition of the 0.7 per cent target and the money spent at home.” 

To back our crusade sign the online petition by visiting petition.parliament.uk/petitions/200292