Britain lost 3.2 million pounds through fraud in its overseas aid programmes in 2015-16
By Lin Taylor
LONDON, Feb 12 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - One of Britain's leading aid contractors pressured beneficiaries to write favourable testimonies while it was under investigation, a government report found on Sunday, amid growing scrutiny over UK aid spending.
Britain last year launched an inquiry into the use of contractors in its overseas humanitarian programmes after facing criticism for paying rising amounts to for-profit private companies to deliver aid.
Adam Smith International, which is contracted by the Department of International Development (DFID) to run aid programmes, threatened to withdraw funds from some recipients unless they wrote beneficial evidence for the inquiry, the parliamentary committee report found.
DFID has come under increasing scrutiny over how it spends its budget, which rose by 4 percent to 12 billion pounds ($15 billion) last year, as the government grapples with public debt at its highest level in nearly 50 years.
"This is a damning report which reflects badly on the activities of a leading UK aid contractor," said International Development Committee chair Stephen Twigg in a statement.
Twigg said the group's attempts to conceal their involvement in obtaining favourable testimonials about their work were "entirely inappropriate and show a serious lack of judgement".
The report said the company's director Peter Young wrote in an email to staff: "Frankly, this is a time for beneficiaries to step up and be helpful. They are getting free, high quality advice and should be prepared to chip in."
In a statement to the Thomson Reuters Foundation, Adam Smith International said it asked for testimonials from beneficiaries "in good faith" that it would help the committee understand the impact and value of its work.
"Our own investigation concurs with the Committee's findings that the way we did this 'overstepped the mark' which we sincerely regret," it said.
"To ensure that this does not happen again we have taken rigorous steps to tighten procedures and strengthen oversight."
The ongoing inquiry will examine whether contractors provide value for money and whether salaries, profits and dividends in the sector are appropriate.
Britain lost 3.2 million pounds through fraud in its overseas aid programmes in 2015-16, with the most serious cases in Afghanistan, Somalia, Syria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, a parliamentary watchdog said on Thursday.
The UK government has stuck to a pledge to spend 0.7 percent of its national income on foreign aid, although some politicians say the budget would be better spent at home.
($1 = 0.8007 pounds)
(Reporting by Lin Taylor @linnytayls, Editing by Ros Russell; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters that covers humanitarian issues, conflicts, global land and property rights, modern slavery and human trafficking, women's rights, climate change and resilience. Visit http://news.trust.org to see more stories)
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