Lord Ashdown to lead review of emergency aid

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 14th Jul 2010

A review of how the Government responds to disasters such as the Haiti earthquake will be led by former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown, it was announced today.

Lord Ashdown will lead a taskforce of humanitarian experts from inside and outside Government to review all aspects of how the UK Government responds to disasters and work with the international community to speed up the delivery of aid.

The review will also look at how the UK can best work with international bodies and UN agencies in emergency situations and to ensure that the global response to disasters improves.

Commenting, Lord Ashdown said:

"The emergency response taskforce will ask searching questions of the UK and international response to ensure we are fully prepared and equipped, as well as providing value for money.

"As the number of natural disasters is set to increase dramatically, the emergency response taskforce will make sure the Government is well prepared for future catastrophes."