Devex: ‘A real kick in the teeth’: DFID staffers speak out on merger
“Staff members at the U.K.’s Department for International Development have spoken out about the dissolution of the department, expressing fears over the potential for U.K. aid to be misused and irritation at learning of the news from the media. Political journalists in the U.K. began reporting the planned merger of DFID with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office several hours before Prime Minister Boris Johnson made the official announcement in Parliament on Tuesday. He said DFID and FCO will become the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in September…” (Worley/Chadwick, 6/17).

Devex: IDC faces closure as chair calls for new committee to scrutinize aid
“The U.K. Parliament’s aid watchdog is facing closure in September, in line with the Department for International Development’s merger with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. Sarah Champion, chair of the International Development Committee — the parliamentary body that scrutinizes U.K. aid spending — received a letter informing her that the committee would be closed down just hours after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a merger between DFID and FCO on Tuesday, forming a new Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office…” (Worley, 6/18).

Devex: What Boris Johnson’s speech reveals about the future of U.K. aid
“The prime minister’s speech raised several red flags about how official development assistance will be used by the new Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office…” (Worley, 6/17).