Britain says weak pound hits anti-terrorism spending (Roundup)

Jan 21, 2010, 13:44 GMT

London - Britain conceded Thursday that the fall in the value of its pound Sterling currency meant that it had less money to spend on counter-terrorism measures, including combating terrorism in Pakistan and fighting the narcotics trade in Afghanistan.

But Foreign Office Minister Chris Bryant, while acknowledging the shortfall, said that overall spending on counter-terrorism programmes was rising.

His emergency statement was prompted by revelations that the Foreign Office was facing an estimated budget shortfall of 110 million pounds (178 million dollars) in counter-terrorism spending for the 2009-2010 period.

Bryant said the government had been 'absolutely open' about problems with currency fluctuations and denied there had been any attempt to 'obfuscate or hide' the fact that the estimated impact was over 100 million pounds.

'The total amount of money we're spending on counter-terrorism is rising in each year and the percentage of the amount of money we're spending in Pakistan has increased,' he said.

Pakistan was currently receiving 28 per cent of the total amount of counter-terrorism spending. The amount spent in Pakistan had risen from 3.7 million pounds in 2007/08 to 6.2 million pounds in 2008/09 and 8.3 million pounds in 2009/10.

According to the revelations by Glenys Kinnock, a Labour member of the House of Lords, measures to curb 'radicalization' among the population of Pakistan and a programme aimed at fighting the narcotics trade in Afghanistan were affected by the shortfall caused by currency fluctuations in the pound vis-a-vis the dollar and the euro.

Her statement to the upper house came as an acute embarrassment for Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who announced fresh border control measures Wednesday and described Pakistan and Afghanistan as the 'crucible of terrorism.'

Brown is hosting an international conference on Afghanistan and Yemen in London next week, in which the fight against terrorism is a main element.

However, Labour politician Kim Howells, a former Foreign Office minister, hinted that the row was little more than a storm in a teacup.

'It's well known that if the currency devalues against other currencies, then you buy less for your money,' he told the BBC.