Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email

       Please enter a valid email address

       Please enter a valid email address

       SIGN UP

       I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice

       Thanks for signing up to the

       View from Westminster email

       {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

       Rishi Sunak is to become the first UK prime minister in a decade to skip the UN General Assembly, despite calls from non-governmental organisations for him to attend an event to achieve sustainable development.

       Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden and Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will lead the British delegation at the annual gathering of world leaders in New York in September, Downing Street said.

       A No 10 spokesperson pointed to the Prime Minister’s busy schedule for the autumn, noting that he will meet counterparts at the G20 leaders’ summit in New Delhi on September 9 and 10 and the Cop28 UN climate summit in Dubai in November.

       It is unusual for a modern British premier to miss the UN’s so-called high-level general debate.

       Mr Sunak’s predecessors, including short-lived former prime minister Liz Truss, made time to travel to New York to deliver speeches on the world stage.

       The last no-show from a UK leader was David Cameron in 2013.

       Recommended ‘It’s the factories that won’t be built’: Understanding the Brexit damage to economy Keir Starmer is still waiting for Sue Gray – but she can’t solve his biggest problem Nadine Dorries resigns as MP with attack on Rishi Sunak

       More than a hundred aid and development leaders wrote to Mr Sunak, calling on him to go to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) summit – the centrepiece of this year’s UN gathering.

       The SDG summit is held once every four years and marks the halfway point to the 2030 deadline for achieving the global plan to improve the planet and the quality of human life.

       In a letter on Friday, the NGO leaders urged the Prime Minister to “walk the talk and show leadership by turning these commitments into action” and “rebuild the UK’s reputation as a trusted partner to lower-income countries and global actors”.

       Stephanie Draper, chief executive of Bond – the UK network for international development organisations, said Britain appeared to have “stepped back from leadership on globally agreed goals”.

       The Prime Minister will swerve the UN General Assembly

       (PA Wire)

       “The upcoming UN SDG Summit is an opportunity for the Prime Minister to show leadership on the global stage and rebuild the UK’s reputation as a trusted partner to lower-income countries, and this requires being present as a starting point,” she said.

       Labour shadow foreign secretary David Lammy said earlier this month that Mr Sunak’s absence at the UN General Assembly “would mark a low ebb of the Conservatives’ isolationist foreign policy”.

       Last year, the Prime Minister faced a backlash when he indicated he would miss Cop27 in Egypt and eventually decided to go after all.

       A No10 spokesperson said: “The UK delegation at the UN General Assembly High Level Week will be led by the Deputy Prime Minister, accompanied by the Foreign Secretary and others.

       Recommended Budget 2022: Hunt says UK in recession as he announces huge tax rises Jeremy Hunt increases energy windfall tax in budget Jeremy Hunt freezes tax allowances and hits 45p rate payers

       “The Prime Minister is expected to hold discussions with a number of world leaders in the coming weeks, including at the G20 Summit in New Delhi and the Cop28 Summit in the UAE.

       “He and other ministers will continue to use all their engagements with their international counterparts to drive forward the Government’s priorities, including on growing the economy, stopping illegal migration and supporting Ukraine.”

       More about Rishi Sunak UN General Assembly Oliver Dowden James Cleverly David Lammy

       1/ 2Rishi Sunak to skip UN world leader event

       Rishi Sunak to skip UN world leader event

       The Prime Minister will swerve the UN General Assembly

       PA Wire

       Rishi Sunak to skip UN world leader event The Prime Minister will swerve the UN General Assembly (Leon Neal/PA)

       PA Wire

       ？ Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article

       Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.

       Subscribe

       Already subscribed? Log in