Rwanda risking global aid over role in DRC invasion - Lammy

Rwanda has put $1bn of global aid under threat by taking part in the invasion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the foreign secretary, David Lammy, has warned.

- Patrick Wintour

He made his direct warning in a phone call to the Rwandan president, Paul Kagame, on Sunday after also speaking to the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, about the crisis.

Lammy said Rwanda received more than $1bn (£800m) of global aid every year, including about £32m of bilateral UK assistance.

"All of that is under threat when you attack your neighbours, and we are clear that we cannot have countries challenging the territorial integrity of other countries," he said.

"Just as we will not tolerate it in the continent of Europe, we cannot tolerate it wherever in the world it happens."

Lammy's tough remarks mark a break from a much more supportive British policy towards Rwanda pursued by previous Labour and Conservative governments, as well as by influential figures such as the former prime minister Tony Blair.

Kagame has long been feted at international symposiums, with his authoritarian methods largely ignored partly owing to the role he played in ending the Rwandan genocide and in rolling back disease.