Britain is now one of only five countries to meet the UN's foreign aid target, as even Germany failed to give 0.7 per cent of its national income on overseas aid last year.

The UK, which is now bound by law to meet the pledge, gives nearly double compared to the average of all countries, new figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development show.

This is equivalent to the UK's foreign aid budget accounting for £1 of every £8 given by developed countries.

Last year, six out of the 29 countries which make up the OECD's development assistance committee met the target, including Germany. Today, the UK is only outstripped by Sweden, Luxembourg, Norway and Denmark in terms of the proportion it spends on aid.

Andrew Bridgen, the Tory MP, said “one of the justifications of adopting the 0.7 per cent target for foreign aid was to encourage other countries to also achieve that target, but unfortunately that appears not to have happened.”

He said this “casts questions over the sustainability and desirability of the target.”