FT says Christian Aid is "irresponsible"

By Alex Singleton | 29 April 2005

The Financial Times used a leader this week to discuss Christian Aid's campaigning:

If the archbishop wants to make a more useful contribution, he could dissociate himself from the statements of Christian Aid, some of whose policy officers are quite sensible but whose campaigning on trade has been strikingly irresponsible. One of its more bizarre statements equated free trade with slavery, which would have horrified the 19th century Christians (mainly non-conformist rather than Anglican) who supported both commerce between free peoples and the end of the slave trade. The campaign tactics of Christian Aid are an embarrassment to more constructive organisations such as Oxfam and Cafod, allies in the Trade Justice campaign on which its malign influence is evident.

I thought the archbishop's speech was welcome in that it at least accepted that there is case for free trade. Christian Aid's shock-and-awe approach to debating the issue, however, is unhelpful and unconstructive.