Row as foreign aid escapes cuts

Anger over the pledge was unleashed after Chancellor George Osborne launched a website asking the public for ideas on where the axe should fall.

As hundreds of suggestions poured in, the most popular was for international development funding to bear some of the brunt of the pain.

Whitehall departments are braced for average cuts of 25 per cent in spending over five years – and have been told to prepare plans for up to 40 per cent – under plans to tackle the UK's record deficit.

Only the health service and aid have been told they are safe from the reductions, Prime Minister David Cameron insisting that Britain must meet international targets for helping the world's poorest.

Initial responses to the Treasury's Spending Challenge website however suggested that the message could prove difficult with voters amid harsh austerity measures at home.

Among suggestions given the highest rating by users on the site were two calling for the overseas aid effort to be curbed – particularly to countries such as India.

Others receiving strong backing were cutting perks such as TV for prisoners, scrapping the Trident nuclear deterrent, refusing to pay the 12m cost of the Pope's planned visit, legalising drugs and withdrawing from the European Union.

There was also support for further restrictions on the pay of senior civil servants and the taxpayers' contribution to public sector pensions and for severe crackdowns on benefits.

Mr Osborne warned in his Budget last month that public spending would have to be reduced by 32bn a year by 2014/15 in order to help bring down the 149bn deficit.

Details of where the axe will fall will be set out in October following a spending review.

He has signalled that the impact could be lowered if ways are found of saving even more cash than presently planned from welfare payments.

Mr Osborne launched the website yesterday morning as he met some of the 60,000 public sector workers who contributed to a similar consultation exercise.

Social networking sites have also been involved and the Chancellor and other Ministers are planning public seminars to hear how voters think spending should be cut "while protecting the vulnerable in our society".

"We are facing the challenge of a lifetime. After years of Labour waste, there is now simply not enough money to go round," Mr Osborne said at the launch.

"That's why I'm asking everyone across the country to send in their ideas.

"We need to tackle this huge national debt and make our economy stronger, and it's your ideas that will help us do that by improving public services and saving money."