William Worley
Devex
United Kingdom
Contact William
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
| Recent: |
|
| Past: |
|
Past articles by William:
UK Labour leader Keir Starmer backs restoring DFID
The UK's opposition party created the Department for International Development in 1997. Now it officially wants to bring it back — if it wins the next election, due by January 2025. → Read More
British International Investment CEO won’t heed Truss' China remarks
U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has made frequent comments linking the development finance institution with a move to counter China, but its CEO says he won't "recognize" such a narrative. → Read More
Aid should challenge 'malign actors,' says UK foreign secretary
Under Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, the United Kingdom's development strategy has become strikingly geopolitical. She has now told members of Parliament about the main uses she sees for aid spending. → Read More
Hosna Jalil: Witness to the rise and fall of Afghan women
Hosna Jalil was the first woman to reach a ministerial position in Afghanistan's Ministry of Interior Affairs, but is now living in exile. She credits education for her rise — and says it must be kept alive to secure Afghanistan's future. → Read More
What will FCDO's British Investment Partnerships do for development?
FCDO's much-awaited international development strategy held a new concept: British Investment Partnerships. Devex takes a look at what that actually means, and if their constituent parts can deliver for development. → Read More
Exclusive: Russia, China foiled UN meetings on Tigray famine, says Lowcock
The international response to the dire food insecurity in Ethiopia's Tigray region was repeatedly stymied by Russia and China working in the U.N. Security Council on the Ethiopian government's behalf, former U.N. relief chief Mark Lowcock tells Devex. → Read More
Agreement curbing urban explosive weapons approaches final stages
Explosive weapons used in cities — as shown in war zones from Iraq to Ukraine — are responsible for the vast majority of civilian deaths in conflict. Campaigners hope a new international agreement could be the start of real change. → Read More
Former senior FCDO official offers insider view of the UK aid cuts
The aid cuts rocked the country's development sector and damaged — and sometimes stopped — aid programs around the world. Devex speaks with former FCDO official Stefan Dercon who helped oversee the cuts, in the first major interview with an FCDO insider on the policy. → Read More
Stefan Dercon: Why beer and pizza are integral to development
The economist has penned a new theory of development, which he says holds key lessons for the sector. → Read More
UK MPs call for resignation of FCDO's top official, Philip Barton
British MPs are so angry with FCDO's response to the Afghanistan crisis that they are calling for the resignation of its most senior official. → Read More
UK development strategy panned as 'aid for trade,' missed opportunity
Many hoped that FCDO's much-awaited development strategy would provide direction to the United Kingdom's international policy. But the document is not everything that observers would have liked it to be. → Read More
UK development strategy to put 'economic power at the centre'
The United Kingdom's long-awaited international development strategy emphasizes trade and investment. → Read More
Frustrations grow in UK over FCDO's delayed development strategy
Publication of the United Kingdom's international development strategy has been pushed back repeatedly, causing further uncertainty in the aid sector after a year of budget cuts. → Read More
UK-Rwanda project called 'uglier vision of development diplomacy'
The United Kingdom promised a £120 million economic development deal with Rwanda as part of a controversial migrant deportation scheme. But the project has caused confusion and is attracting criticism from experts. → Read More
FCDO releases data on the £4.6B cut to UK aid
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office finally released statistics on how the aid cuts played out — and they show that low-income countries were affected the most. → Read More
Afghanistan pledging conference falls $2B short
As fears for Afghanistan continue to rise — more than 20 million people in the country require humanitarian assistance — U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres calls for the international community to "halt the death spiral of the Afghan economy." → Read More
Watchdog finds UK aid cuts lacked transparency, regard for impact
The U.K. government's aid cuts were always controversial among those within the development sector. Now, a report from the country's public finance watchdog has vindicated many of their complaints. → Read More
CDC Group defends investing with P&O Ferries owners DP World
P&O Ferries caused uproar in the United Kingdom after it fired 800 workers without notice — but CDC Group says an investment with DP World, P&O Ferries' parent company, is still worth it, despite skepticism. → Read More
UK payments to Iran will not count toward aid budget
The United Kingdom government's promise that the debt repayment, vital to securing the release of hostage Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, would be used for humanitarian goods, had prompted worries it might place further pressure on the aid budget. → Read More
What more UK aid cuts could mean for climate change, health, and conflict
Despite global instability, dire climate forecasts, and a pandemic, the U.K. development sector is bracing for more aid cuts to programs aimed at tackling these problems. Experts tell Devex why they are needed. → Read More