Britain says the funds given for humanitarian work in Sri Lanka were not given directly to the Sri Lankan government.

Concerns were raised by some British opposition members over reports that the funds given for Sri Lanka are diverted to the Sri Lankan government.

The British House of Commons was informed on Friday that the Department for International Development (DFID) had allocated large amounts of money for Sri Lanka over the past 10 years. The Department for International Development closed its bilateral programme with Sri Lanka in 2006 but continued contributing towards humanitarian work.

The British House of Commons was told that the funds were however contributed bilaterally to humanitarian work through the UN, Red Cross and NGOs and was not going directly to the government of Sri Lanka.

Britain has been very vocal about the human rights situation in Sri Lanka and has supported calls for an independent investigation in the country into alleged war crimes.The British government has also supported the work of the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission.