Nearly £300m of taxpayer cash used for foreign aid STOLEN by terror groups like Hamas and Boko Haram

According to the think tank's analysis, Britain distributed between £225million and £310million through cash aid programmes in 2024, though the Government does not officially disclose these figures.

The CVA system sees organisations mainly distribute funds in two ways: by physically handing out cash or digitally via local financial partners.

It is intended to give families in impacted areas the dignity of choice in prioritising what they need most and to stimulate local economies.

“Cash is fast, effective, and easy to scale… It gives people the power to choose what they need most,” Tom Fletcher, the UN’s relief chief, said.

However, the new report, titled Cash to Terror, argued that the CVA system remains highly vulnerable to exploitation, with armed groups controlling the financial infrastructure through which aid money flows.

Andrew Fox, the report's author and senior research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, warned that armed groups extract their share before assistance reaches those in need.

"This is Britain's biggest hidden aid scandal," he said.

"We are handing out up to £300million a year in cash - and in places like Gaza, Yemen and Nigeria, that money is being bled off by militants before it ever reaches civilians," the author and 16-year British Army veteran warned.

Reacting to the shocking findings, John O'Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, told GB News: "British taxpayers have long known that their money is lost along the way when it is dished out overseas.

“To have it confirmed that taxpayers' money is being pocketed by terrorist groups will only further infuriate families and businesses that pick up the enormous so-called aid bills.

“A future government has to cut back overseas support to disaster relief only, and re-direct every penny of British taxpayers' money to rebuilding our army so it's in a fit state to protect us in an uncertain world."

Delving into where the taxpayer's cash is being pilfered, Mr Fox explained that Hamas currency exchangers were claiming up to 40 per cent of every withdrawal, whilst Houthi forces imposed levies on aid convoys, merchants and marketplaces, and Boko Haram was collecting payments.

"You can do all the audits you like in London - but if you inject cash into a warzone controlled by extremists, the extremists take their cut first," he said.

"Britain is in real danger of funding both sides of multiple conflicts without even realising it," Mr Fox feared.

The report's findings reveal that Hamas-affiliated money exchangers are extracting between 20 and 40 per cent of the $42.5million in aid recently channelled into Gaza.

Civilians in the territory are apparently being compelled to purchase stolen humanitarian supplies from markets operated by Hamas.

In Yemen, which received $161million in aid vouchers during the previous year, the think tank found that Houthi militants were diverting more than 10 per cent of food assistance whilst simultaneously taxing traders.

Nigeria, where approximately $284million in aid vouchers were distributed, sees militant organisations profiting by imposing levies on fishing, livestock, agricultural produce and transportation as they pass through routes under Boko Haram's control.

In light of the revelations, the Henry Jackson Society has demanded greater transparency regarding Britain's cash aid expenditure and called for audits to be conducted within conflict zones.

The think tank also urged that humanitarian assistance be suspended to regions under the control of proscribed terrorist organisations and insisted that the United Nations and non-governmental organisations must strengthen their oversight mechanisms or face losing their funding.

Britain contributed £1.6billion to UN agencies in 2024, organisations that rely heavily on cash and voucher assistance programmes.

The Foreign Office has firmly dismissed the report's conclusions, with a spokesman stating: "We completely reject the findings of this report.

"We thoroughly vet all aid partners and programmes are continually monitored to make sure money is spent as intended."