DOES Britain spend too much money helping other countries?

About £13 billion (0.7 per cent) of UK gross national income goes on foreign aid. No one could deny it is a massive sum – enough to fund 10 per cent of the NHS for a whole year or pay-off the DUP for another decade, if you were so inclined.

The Government announced yesterday that £40m will go to help rebuild Mosul after Iraqi forces declared victory over IS in the city. Some people – including regular contributors to HAS and the Echo’s website – say that the UK shouldn’t be helping people overseas while cutting services at home.

We believe, however, that Britain’s responsibilities do not end at the White Cliffs of Dover.

As well as saving lives, our aid maintains our reputation as a respected world power and, as Brexit looms, shows that leaving the EU doesn’t mean we are isolationists.

The funding for Iraq will get food, shelter and medical support to displaced people. British aid also goes towards vaccinating children from diseases, enables them to go to school and helps people work their way out of poverty.

From a selfish point of view, it helps limit the number of desperate people wanting to enter Britain, and protects us from the spread of diseases such as Ebola.

It would be misleading to claim that every penny goes on worthy causes. Some inevitably falls into the hands of wasteful administrators, fraudsters and people who don’t deserve our hard-earned money, but that is true of any taxes we pay.

Our commitment to overseas aid is tangible proof of the humanity of British people and should therefore be a source of pride.