Foreign trade chief asked for ideas on how to spend spare £1m

The head of the government department responsible for promoting British business abroad asked officials to think of ways to spend up to £1 million to avoid a budget underspend.

Sir Andrew Cahn, until this week head of UK Trade & Investment, said in an e-mail to senior colleagues that the Foreign Office was "heading for an underspend and wants to get money out of the door". He added: "If we can spend money in this financial year on a one-off basis, then we can have at least 1 million. Can you think what we might do with such money?"

Shadow foreign secretary Yvette Cooper said that "William Hague's financial planning seems to be in chaos". She added: "At a time when jobs and livelihoods in Britain are being put at risk by government cuts, the Foreign Office needs to show it has a proper grip on its priorities and financial plans."

The UKTI said it did not comment on leaked documents.