The UK government on Wednesday (12) confirmed that it has withheld its estimated £4.7 million voluntary contribution to a key Commonwealth fund amid concerns over procurement policies within the Commonwealth Secretariat in London.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said that funding to the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation (CFTC) for the 2018-19 financial year was £4,721,664, the final tranche of which has been paid in. However, there will be a number of conditions to be met before the funding for the 2019-20 financial year can be made.
"We are committed to an effective Commonwealth that delivers for its member states, so we have set a number of conditions on UK funding to the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation for this financial year,” an FCO spokesperson said.
“These include conditions relating to ensuring that the Secretariat’s procurement policy and its implementation are in line with international best practice,” the spokesperson said.
The suspension of the funding follows similar action by Australia and New Zealand. Besides the UK, Australia and New Zealand, it is India and Canada who are the main financial contributors to the CFTC – used for funding important development projects within the Commonwealth’s member-countries.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), India is the fifth-largest contributor to the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation (CFTC), with an annual contribution of around 1 million pounds.
It remains unconfirmed if India is also planning any action to suspend its funding amid ongoing concerns around the internal functioning of the Commonwealth Secretariat – the administrative hub for the Commonwealth of nations, made up of 54 countries.
The FCO has said that the UK government remains committed to an effective Commonwealth delivering for its member states, and will continue to collaborate with its fellow member states in overseeing the Commonwealth Secretariat for that purpose.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Baroness Patricia Scotland has been under some pressure in recent months over certain internal processes, casting doubt over her re-election for a second term during the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Rwanda later in the year.
Commonwealth High Commissioners had called in KPMG auditors last year for a review of the Secretariat''s financial procedures.
The Commonwealth Secretariat said that it fully accepted the recommendations of the recent KPMG internal audit report on procurement across the 2015-2018 financial years and expressed the hope that the UK''s funding would be reinstated soon.
Its statement said: "All six of the recommendations were accepted and all but one have been implemented. The remaining recommendation will be implemented by the end of February, 2020. The follow up audit, in April, will test and verify this position.
"We hope that the withheld discretionary funding, which is for the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation, will then be reinstated, allowing the Commonwealth to continue delivering vital work on behalf of member countries.”
Lord Kamlesh Patel’s consultancy firm KYA Global also came under the scanner for being issued a contract without the usual competitive tendering rules. Lord Patel and Baroness Scotland both strongly deny any impropriety.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a news conference in Jerusalem on June 15, 2026.
Netanyahu faces backlash for calling Britain ‘Islamic Republic’
Highlights
ISRAELI prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the UK as the “Islamic Republic of Britain”, drawing criticism amid growing tensions between the two countries.
Netanyahu made the comments during an interview for Israel's army radio while discussing British media coverage of Israel.
Praising journalist Randolph Churchill, son of former British prime minister Winston Churchill, for his coverage of Israel more than 50 years ago, Netanyahu said: “Go find that in today's Britain, in what is called the Islamic republic of Britain.”
When the interviewer asked whether Netanyahu was singling out Britain unfairly because other European countries had also become critical of Israel, he went further.
“Yes, but you know someone said the first Islamic republic with nuclear weapons will be the Islamic republic of Britain,” he said.
Pakistan, officially known as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, has possessed nuclear weapons since the 1990s.
Netanyahu's remarks have been criticised by political figures and Jewish organisations in Britain.
Avi Dabush, a member of Israel's opposition Democrats party, accused Netanyahu of attacking a key ally while Israel faces growing international isolation.
“That’s what happens when there’s a horrific diplomatic failure, and an inability to rally countries in the world in favour of our interests,” he said in a social media post.
'Dangerous and divisive'
The Movement for Progressive Judaism also criticised the comments, saying they were dangerous and divisive.
“At a time when antisemitism, anti-Muslim hatred and social division are causing real fear across our country, language of this kind is dangerous and irresponsible,” said its co-leads Rabbi Charley Baginsky and Rabbi Josh Lev.
“Prime minister Netanyahu does not speak for British Jews. His words do not represent us,” they added.
Gavin Barwell, a former Downing Street chief of staff, described Netanyahu's comments as “blatant Islamophobia”.
Relations between Britain and Israel have become increasingly strained in recent years, with London taking a tougher position over Israel's military actions in Gaza and settlement policy.
British prime minister Andy Burnham has said the UK should do more to put pressure on the Israeli government, including considering further sanctions and measures to restrict trade in goods from illegal settlements.
Netanyahu's comments also echoed remarks made by US vice president JD Vance during the 2024 presidential campaign, when he suggested the UK could become the first “truly Islamist country” with nuclear weapons.
The Israeli prime minister's office did not immediately respond to questions about whether his comments represented the official position of the Israeli government. The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office also did not immediately comment.