Why cutting aid to buy bombs is making us less safe

Why cutting aid to buy bombs is making us less safe

Author: The Telegraph November 26, 2025 Duration: 31:37

With conflicts raging around the world, aid budgets are being slashed in favour of defence spending. 


But experts are warning that cutting aid may not just hurt the world’s most vulnerable, it could make life in Britain more dangerous.


This week, Lord Dannatt, the former head of the British Army, tells Venetia and Arthur why cutting aid to boost defence actually makes us less safe. 


Plus we hear from the author of a new Chatham House report, Olivia O'Sullivan, about the risk of China filling the power gap and the impact on global health.


Producer: Sophie O'Sullivan


Executive Producer: Louisa Wells


Studio Operator: Meghan Searle


Read Lord Dannatt's Telegraph article here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/11/24/britain-invest-security-sudan-dangerous-world/


► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor


Contact us with feedback or ideas:

battlelines@telegraph.co.uk 

@venetiarainey

@ascottgeddes




Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


For those trying to understand the complex and rapidly shifting landscape of the Middle East, Iran: The Latest offers essential context. This Telegraph podcast moves beyond the headlines to examine the military, diplomatic, and strategic forces shaping the ongoing tensions between Iran, the United States, and Israel. Hosted by veteran foreign correspondents Roland Oliphant and Venetia Rainey, each episode synthesizes frontline reporting from the paper's award-winning journalists with insightful conversations. You'll hear from specialists in areas like regional security architecture, covert operations, and geopolitical theory, providing a clearer picture of the stakes involved. The analysis considers historical grievances, economic pressures, and potential flashpoints, from proxy conflicts to direct confrontations. It’s a resource for anyone who wants to grasp not just what is happening, but why it matters and what might come next. By drawing on deep sourcing and expert commentary, this podcast delivers a nuanced perspective that is both timely and thoroughly researched, making sense of a critical and often misunderstood arena of global affairs.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Iran: The Latest
Podcast Episodes
Inside the 'Easter Miracle': How the US rescued two airmen from Iran [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:51
How did America manage to rescue two airmen after their plane was shot down over Iran?In this bonus bank holiday episode, Venetia Rainey is joined by Jack Murphy, ex-US special forces who served in Iraq and Afghanistan,…
‘A full spectrum crisis’: how the Iran war went global [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:16
Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has already pushed up oil prices. But is a bigger global economic disruption yet to come? And how long will it last?The Telegraph’s World Economy Editor Ambrose Evans-Pritchard joi…
Iran navy chief killed & why the war 'was based on a lie' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:06
Will Israel’s assassination of the IRGC’s naval chief lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz?Hosts Roland Oliphant and Venetia Rainey analyse the latest news from the Iran war, from the killing of navy commander A…