Truss: ‘Poverty is about economics’

Foreign secretary Liz Truss has been quizzed by the International Development Committee over her department’s new international development strategy.

Committee chair Sarah Champion complained it was “striking” that “poverty is mentioned nine times, whereas economic is mentioned 50 times” in the document, Truss stressed that “poverty is also about economics,” adding that the UK wanted to promote a “sustainable increase in income over the long term.”

When Chris Law asked if she was “embarrassed” by the sole mention of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the strategy document, she said the goals were “baked in” to the government’s plans.