Responding to the appointment of Alok Sharma MP as the new Development Secretary, Sanj Srikanthan, Executive Director of the IRC-UK said:

"The IRC welcomes the new Secretary of State for International Development and congratulates Alok Sharma on being given the best job in government. DFID has made the UK a humanitarian and development superpower that is respected around the globe for its leading role in protecting and supporting the world’s most vulnerable and marginalised people. DFID’s energy, expertise and ingenuity is needed now more than ever with over 70 million people currently displaced from their homes by conflict and crisis and with climate change likely to drive that figure up even further.

"Behind these alarming statistics are real people whose lives have been turned upside down, who have witnessed unspeakable violence, and whose future looks bleak as they try to recover in difficult and dangerous settings. The crisis of displacement is not an intractable one, but it does require the UK's focus, leadership and resources. We are pleased that the Prime Minister has signaled his confidence in the work of DFID, and we look forward to working with the entire government to move us all towards a more stable, peaceful and prosperous world."