A WORCESTERSHIRE MEP has hit out at foreign aid for Pakistan - saying we should be forging free trade links rather than dishing out "unaccountable" handouts.

UKIP's James Carver has called upon the Government to reconsider its aid to the Asian country, saying UK taxpayers have stumped up £1 billion over the last five years.

The remarks have not gone down well with Worcester's Muslim Welfare Association, which says Pakistan's poverty problems are still incredibly bad.

Families in Pakistan get bank cards loaded with British money to withdraw from cashpoints and boost their incomes under the foreign aid deal, which saw £374 million handed over last year.

Figures show 235,000 people benefit, and it is planned to rise to 441,000 by 2020 under the UK's foreign aid programme.

Mr Carver, who represents the West Midlands region in the European Parliament, said: "How can this be good use of our bloated foreign aid budget?

"Naturally, I'm all in favour of doing our best to assist our Commonwealth kith and kin.

"We have to ensure we utilise our links to these countries, including Pakistan, for mutually beneficial free trade deals after we escape the EU.

"But handing over £1 billion during the last five years in unaccountable cash to individuals cannot be justified.

"Priority should be given for that budget to be used for emergency aid, health programmes and initiatives that provide sanitation and clean water.

"Giving such cash payments in a country that has its own nuclear weapons and space programmes is just not right.

"As UK taxpayers face more and more cuts, we are providing cash benefits to the citizens of Pakistan.

"Giving handouts is never a proper solution to poverty - only trade and jobs will provide the financial security and growth needed."

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He said UKIP wants the foreign aid budget to be cut by £9 billion, with some of the money used to help adult social care in Britain.

Harris Saleem, from Worcester's Muslim Welfare Association, said: "I understand what he is saying about Pakistan, I am not in a position to say there are not billionaires there.

"But there is also corruption and serious poverty in Pakistan, as well as Bangladesh and India.

"If the money goes towards relieving poverty and can make a difference, then we should keep on doing it.

"Free trade is a good idea, as is better links between the countries, but I do think the aid should carry on."

Last year Pakistan announced it would buy eight new submarines at a cost of around £4 billion, with the country expected to lavish more than £10 billion on new weapons by 2024.

Its space programme has successfully launched a satellite and has an annual budget of around £19.5 million.

Some backbench MPs have been calling on Prime Minister Theresa May to ditch the Government's commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on overseas aid when there is a care crisis in Britain.

The Department for International Development says the investment into Pakistan is "making the world a safer place by tackling poverty".