The Prime Minister is not famous for her sense of humour, but she seems to have displayed it in the appointment of certain Cabinet ministers, notably Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary and Priti Patel as International Development Secretary. The joke in the latter case lies in the fact that Ms Patel had long advocated the abolition of the department she now heads, with its responsibilities subsumed into the department that deals with overseas trade. She believes that international development aid should work openly for the British national interest, for instance by fostering business connections between donor and recipient. The problem for her is that this is illegal, under legislation passed by both Labour and Conservative governments.

It amounts to tying aid to trade. This is also ruled out in the 2015 Tory election manifesto, which committed the country to spend 0.7 per cent of gross national income on international development and “maintain an independent Department for International Development and keep aid untied”.