This is the full statement published by Kate Osamor, shadow secretary of state for international development, following the appointment of Penny Mordaunt as the replacement for the sacked Priti Patel.
We congratulate Penny Mordaunt on her appointment as the new secretary of state for the world class Department for International Development.
The new secretary of state faces an immediate challenge of restoring integrity to British international development policy after the actions of Priti Patel.
That means she must unequivocally commit to the spirit, as well as the letter, of Britain’s pledge to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on international development, and face down those in her party who want to merge DFID into the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Unlike Priti Patel, who too often used the department to prop up her personal networks and leadership ambitions, Mordaunt must also quickly commit to the central cause of the department: to help the world’s poorest.
The next Labour government will build a world for the many not the few. We will charge DFID not only with eradicating poverty, but also for the first time with reducing global inequality. Tackling the root causes of poverty, inequality and climate change is the global challenge of our time, and Penny Mordaunt must quickly get to grips with it.
I look forward to working with and challenging Penny across the despatch box in the coming weeks.
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