The UK was one of only six wealthy nations to meet international targets for spending on international aid as other states diverted cash to help deal with the migrant crisis.

New figures showed the UK was second only to the US in terms of the total sums spend on foreign aid, although it gave a larger proportion of its income than the US.

It was one of a handful of states to meet a target to give at least 0.7% of national income on overseas assistance, according to a survey by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The Netherlands, Denmark,Luxembourg, Norway and Sweden were the only others to meet the threshold.

The news was met with criticism from some Conservatives who said it shows Britain gave "more than our fair share".

The US was the biggest total spender, giving £22.47bn in aid, although it amounted to just 0.17% of its national income.

Meanwhile, many other European countries have cut down on their commitments in order to free up cash to deal with the migrant crisis, the OECD found.

In 2015, refugee costs accounted for more than 20% of the aid budgets for Austria, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden. In the UK, it accounted for 1.1% of the budget.

OECD secretary-genera Angel Gurria acknowledged that European states are having to spend to deal with the "unprecedented" migrant crisis but said it must not stop aid reaching some of the world's poorest countries.

There was anger among some in the UK, who said the government had been left footing too much of the bill.

Conservative MP James Cleverly said the figures show "UK plays by the rules when other countries do not" in comments to the Daily Mail.