LONDON: Britain`s international development minister Anneliese Dodds resigned on Friday in a surprise move triggered by Prime Minister Keir Starmer`s decision to slash the foreign aid budget in order to boost defence spending.

Dodds`s resignation comes a day after Starmer enjoyed one of the most successful days of his premiership in his meeting with US President Donald Trump in the White House, where they discussed a trade deal and the war in Ukraine.

Days before, in a signal to Trump that Britain was prepared to make sacrifices to boost Europe`s security, Starmer raised the defence budget, saying he would fund the increase by cutting the overseas development budget from 0.5 per cent of GDP to 0.3 per cent.

The decision stunned humanitarian charities, who warned it would tarnish British influence abroad and have a devastating impact on those they support.

Dodds said in a resignation letter to Starmer that the depth of the cuts would make it impossible to maintain Britain`s development priorities, including in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine.

`Ultimately, these cuts will remove food and healthcare from desperate people deeply harming the UK`s reputation,` she wrote in the letter posted on X.

Dodds said she had decided to go before the prime minister`s trip to Washington, but held off making the announcement to avoid overshadowing it.

`I know you have been clear that you are not ideologically opposed to international development. But the reality is that this decision is already being portrayed as following in President Trump`s slipstream of cuts to USAID,` she said, referring to the US decision to pause all foreign development assistance.-Reuters