The TaxPayers' Alliance report Funding Hate Education set out one example of how aid money can be not just wasteful but counterproductive. There are many more. Proper scrutiny is the only way to make sure that our money isn't wasted.
The call today, by Shadow Secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell, for an inquiry into aid paid to corrupt countries without an audit is extremely welcome. The Government are giving these countries piles of cash with no questions asked. With British taxpayers facing an economic crisis, their money cannot be allowed to wind up in the bank accounts of corrupt officials in foreign countries.