TAXPAYERS are to give a further £70 million to help the relief efforts for British Overseas Territories hit by hurricanes Irma and Maria.
Leaders from 11 territories will meet Theresa May in Downing Street tomorrow for the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Committee, when the Prime Minister will also set out a package of up to £300m in loan guarantees.
The leaders of Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos, the worst impacted British territories, will be among those at the annual get-together.
The funding comes on top of £92m already committed to the relief effort following the hurricanes, which devastated the Caribbean in September.
Mrs May said: "I am pleased to welcome leaders of the Overseas Territories to Downing Street today, as they begin regular consultations with their counterparts in the UK Government.
"I see this as a mark of the strong and enduring partnership that exists between us.”
She went on: "This set of meetings is not only a chance to work together on our shared priorities, but also to hear directly from those territories who suffered from Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
"This new £70m package of support demonstrates the UK's ongoing commitment to help its Overseas Territories as they get on with the difficult work of recovery."
Mrs May will also use the meeting to update the leaders on the progress of the Brexit talks.
Representatives from Anguilla, Ascension Island, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, St Helena and Turks and Caicos will be at the meeting.
The £70m in grants will be made available to UK territories in line with the damage caused by the hurricanes and their capacity to fund their own recovery and come from existing Foreign Office and Department for International Development budgets.
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