Aid budget used for yoga, orchestras and trapeze lessons

The UK’S £13billion aid budget is still being used to fund juggling and trapeze lessons in Tanzania and coconut farming in the Caribbean.

It comes two years after The Daily Telegraph revealed taxpayer money was being spent on the projects by the EU.

Latest figures reveal £120,000 was spent on a “study on Pacific coconut development” in the Caribbean and a programme in Tanzania received £152,000 in funding for weekly lessons in trapeze, acrobatics and juggling.

The Sun revealed that in 2016, £86,000 was spent on yoga therapy in India and £116,000 on conserving eels in the Philippines. Projects also funded by the UK included dementia care in the Chinese province of Qingdao and on supporting the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra.

Britain gave £99million to Zimbabwe, almost £43million to China and £93 million to India.

The Department for International Development told the paper the aid budget increased Britain’s global influence and was saving lives.

The details come weeks after it emerged that Britain cannot use its aid budget to help overseas territories devastated by Hurricane Irma.

MPS said it was “ludicrous” that rules set by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and enshrined in UK law prevent aid money going to Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Under OECD rules the island nations are classed as too wealthy to qualify, even though their economies have been shattered along with their buildings and infrastructure.