The Yorkshire Post says: Forget bickering about aid, we should be proud to provide help to Mexico after earthquake horror

THE fact that teachers and pupils at a school were buried alive in Mexico's earthquake adds poignancy to a natural disaster beyond comprehension as the death toll increases and rescuers frantically try to reach all those trapped in the rubble.

Thirty two years to the day after an even more powerful earthquake struck in the Central American country in 1985, this country will do everything in its power to help those Mexicans and foreign nationals, including visiting Britons, caught up in this simply ghastly tragedy.

Thankfully, this Government’s initial response has been swifter than its reaction to the violent devastation suffered by those countries, including defenceless Caribbean islands, as a result of Hurricane Irma earlier this month, and now Hurricane Maria.

In a week where leaders convened at the United Nations to discuss security issues, these calamities are another reminder about the importance of a swift global response to these humanitarian catastrophes rather than bickering about whether the countries concerned qualify for overseas aid.

The priority is getting help and expertise to the needy quickly and it should be a source of pride that Britain is a world leader in this regard.