BRITAIN is failing to ensure its support for trade in developing countries benefits the poor, a damning report from the aid watchdog has found.

The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) review said Britain’s aid for trade risks “focusing too narrowly short-term UK interests.”

Britain has shifted its focus in Africa towards larger economies such as Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, where its potential trading opportunities are stronger at the expense of poorer countries, it found.