The otherhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👞" title="Herrenschuh" aria-label="Emoji: Herrenschuh"> has dropped (or another https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔨" title="Hammer" aria-label="Emoji: Hammer"> in thehttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⚰️" title="Sarg" aria-label="Emoji: Sarg">): Research Professional - Dominic Raab cuts foreign office R&D spending by £144m https://shar.es/aoRRh6 ">https://shar.es/aoRRh6&qu... (it& #39;s behind a paywall, so if you can& #39;t access it read on....)

& #39;The foreign secretary has announced a £144 million cut in spending on research paid for by the FCDO compared with 2019 levels. The reduction represents a drop of 36 per cent:& #39; @ResearchProfes

Combined with other #odacuts the loss amounts to well over 1/2 a billion pounds, plus over £300mil in charity-funded research, taking total loss to around £1 billion in research funding. ONE BILLION POUNDS!

Apparently seeking to divert attention from the empty purse, Raab told @CommonsIDC today that there& #39;s “a very exciting piece of work that we are doing around science and research to bolster the productivity of our ODA budget and our development policies”: @ResearchProfes

“I do think there is something rather different and innovative though in bringing in the trade and the science and research piece,” Raab told the committee. Yes, Dom, it& #39;s called instrumentalisation/co-opting of research for political ends.

This part really gets me. After cuts that have decimated the #gcrf Raab told @CommonsIDC that he is “putting our aid budget to work alongside our diplomatic network, our science & technology expertise & our economic partnerships in tackling GLOBAL CHALLENGES” (emphasis mine)https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😤" title="Triumphierendes Gesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Triumphierendes Gesicht">