Peter Waddup, CEO - The Leprosy Mission Great Britain

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Once your eyes have seen, you are responsible. The problem comes when people in desperate need of what Britain has promised are not seen. But we at The Leprosy Mission have seen. And so we need to fight for the people we serve and for a fairer world.

I am still reeling from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's announcement on Tuesday. The already diminished Overseas Aid budget will be slashed to just 0.3% of gross national income. This is to fund an increase in defence spending.

This is the same Government that promised to restore UK Aid to its rightful 0.7% when fiscal circumstances allow. But instead it has broken its promise to both the UK electorate and the world's poorest people. It is a shameful day when we are literally taking food from the mouths of the hungriest people on earth. Britain's exemplary reputation as a global humanitarian and development leader is truly shattered.

We were so proud to be able to work with the UK Government to help cure leprosy and lift people out of extreme poverty. Through our collaborations we have enabled thousands of people to live transformed lives. Helping to rid the world of Neglected Tropical Diseases is a global responsibility. As is tackling climate change, for which the richer nations are disproportionately responsible. Yet we are now OK to leave the world's poorest struggling to survive flooding and cyclones.

Trump had already paved the way in the US. His adviser Elon Musk even boasted that they were 'feeding US Aid into the wood-chipper'. An abhorrent sentiment from the world's largest economy and the world's richest man.

I hold so much respect for the MPs who fought for the millions of lives that will be devastated by this decision. But they were few and far between. Tragically the international development budget was simply the easiest to raid.

With an increasingly inward-looking political mindset, there will be few repercussions. The people affected by the cuts won't be marching along Whitehall. There won't be political stunts forcing the injustice onto the front pages.

Cutting the aid budget tragically is the path of least resistance. The people it affects will remain on the sidelines, unseen as they have always been. But at The Leprosy Mission, we continue to see them and so do our incredible supporters. Somehow, we now need to fill the funding gap left behind by UK Aid.

I believe everyone has a heart and can show compassion. I have had the privilege of meeting some of the poorest and most marginalised people on earth. Now my eyes have seen the lives they live, I have no choice but to help. I am by default responsible.

I so wish I could take a group of world leaders to talk to people affected by leprosy. A few days spent walking in the shoes of the people we serve would change their outlook irrevocably. It would undoubtedly alter their political mindset. The recipients of UK Aid would somehow be brought into technicolour. They would become real people and not simply numbers.

With US and UK Aid budgets cut to the core, I fear for a world that will only become increasingly divided. It will not bring the peace, prosperity and global security that the Government seeks.