The letter from Joanne Doherty (March 20) asks for the UK aid budget of 0.7% of GDP to be aimed at the poorest countries.

While not disagreeing with this, I believe the attitude to providing overseas aid from many people in the wealthiest countries is that we should not be doing it.

These are usually the same people who object to immigration, when in fact the two things are linked.

People leave their own countries usually because of poverty and a desire to improve the life of their family, from whom they are separated. It is not something they like doing.

The answer to this is to greatly increase aid to these countries from all of the developed world, instead of the massive spending on weapons of destruction which is called ‘defence spending’. People in foreign countries would then become our friends rather than our enemies. Will this happen? Will pigs fly?

Mr S Davidson, Cairo Avenue, Peacehaven