My Lords, with some trepidation I rise to speak to this amendment. Perhaps I should make it absolutely clear that I am not against the Government spending 0.7%, 0.8% or 1% of
gross national income on aid. I am not opposed to aid; indeed, I have raised quite a lot of money for women in India. For me, the central argument is what we are trying to do here. I hope that I can avoid the noble Countess calling me to order in speaking to this amendment.
By the way, I do not know why there is confusion about which “the” it is. The amendment says:
“Page 1, line 2, leave out first ‘the’ and insert ‘a’”.
We are talking about “a” duty of the Secretary of State rather than “the” duty.