Anger over £17m for Caribbean aid project

LUXURY hotels in the Caribbean are in line to benefit from a £17million aid project funded by British taxpayers.

The Department for International Development (Dfid) has signed off a lavish project to explore the potential of developing geothermal energy on the island of St Lucia, despite warnings from its own officials that there is a significant risk of failure.

If successful, the project will slash energy bills on the island and help it cut greenhouse gases. But official documents reveal a warning that the main commercial beneficiaries of the scheme are likely to be the luxury hotels that are helping to make the island a fixture on the celebrity circuit.

The disclosure sparked fresh calls last night for Britain’s bloated £12billion aid budget to be reined in. Tory MP Peter Bone said it was unacceptable for British taxpayers to be funding schemes designed to cut the energy bills of luxury hotels. He added: ‘Schemes like this really rankle with the public, who have enough trouble paying their own energy bills without being asked to subsidise the costs of luxury hotels.

‘I am sure the operators of these resorts will be delighted to be getting a helping hand from the British taxpayer, but I cannot see how it is helping this country in any way. We have got to start looking to help people at home rather than wasting millions on useless projects abroad.’

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said there was no reason for British taxpayers to be funding schemes of this kind in the Caribbean, which is an attractive market for private investors.

He added: ‘Helping luxury hotels in the Caribbean cut emissions doesn’t sound like a good use of British taxpayers’ money.’

A Government source said the decision to ramp up aid spending in the Caribbean had been a priority of David Cameron’s during his time as prime minister.