Mr Kerrigan's letter to the Chancellor comes amid reports that elements of defence spending may be located in the overseas aid budget.

'I fully accept that international peace keeping enables development and prevents humanitarian disasters,' Mr Kerrigan wrote.

'However, Christian tax payers in the UK will clearly regard this step as a betrayal of the 0.7 per cent GNI commitment which is commonly understood to exist in order to directly alleviate global poverty.'

BMS is a member of the IF campaign, and Mr Kerrigan said that it joins with other charities 'to request you to confirm that, from 2013 onwards, 0.7 per cent of national income will continue to go to life-saving aid and development, aimed at helping some of the poorest people in the world.'

In writing the letter, Mr Kerrigan has also urged supporters to do the same.
A statement on the BMS website says it is 'vital' Mr Osborne that he ensures the UK maintains the 0.7 per cent promise 'and, by so doing, prevent countless children dying from hunger'.

It adds, 'Imagine IF by writing a letter you could help change the world for one billion people. Would you do it?'

In a similar development 30 stars from the world of music, film and sport have joined forces as part of the IF campaign to write to Mr Osborne, asking him to keep his promises on international aid.

The 30 high profile individuals, including Mo Farah, Robbie Williams, Ewan McGregor and Sienna Miller, also ask Mr Osborne to crack down on tax dodging by big businesses working in poor countries. The letter recalls the 'inspiring global leadership and community spirit through our hosting of the Olympic Games', and states the UK Government has an opportunity to build on that promising legacy, when it hosts a major summit on food and hunger and chairs the G8 in June.

'By matching the strength of spirit of the British people, we could be the generation that starts to end hunger,' the letter states.

'No budget decisions can be taken lightly, but investing in the long term will be cheaper for all of us. We simply can't afford hunger to rise to the emergency famine levels we saw in 2011.'

Tearfund's Matthew Frost, Enough Food for Everyone spokesperson said, 'Millions of people in churches across the UK backed Make Poverty History and we can be proud that the Government will next week deliver on a promise we made then to the world's poorest people.

'British aid will help many of the 1 in 8 people in the world who go to bed hungry each night, and it is our Christian duty to share what we have with those in need.'

Enough Food for Everyone IF is a coalition of 150 organisations and counting which have joined together to campaign for action by the G8 on the issue of global hunger. The last time they worked together at this scale was for Make Poverty History. Now that the G8 group of world leaders are returning to the UK in June, the organisations are demanding they take action on hunger.

They state that the UK 'has an opportunity to show real leadership by putting its own house in order in the Budget.'