Hard-working UK taxpayers have bankrolled projects in countries including Mexico, Malaysia and even China - where British cash paid for an all-female traditional opera - over the last five years, shocking new research has revealed.

The Foreign Office allocates overseas aid via its Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme - but a study published by the Institute for Economic Affairs today suggested money was spent in regions which actually have a higher GDP per capita than some parts of the UK.

The report, entitled Robin Hood in Reverse, authored by IEA Research Fellow Mark Tovey, reveals the richest recipient, Ordos in China, has a GDP per capita of £27,500 – on a par with Swansea and richer than 69 other regions of the UK.

Projects include AI-driven anti-congestion measures for Kuala Lumpur, an opera in Shanghai and a rural crafts exhibition in Shenzhen.

In Mexico City, British taxpayers stumped up for a temporary cycle lane and "financial technology education".

In total, eight regions receiving UK aid had higher GDP per capita than Ards and North Down, the UK's poorest region (£17,635 GDP per capita). Areas benefiting also included Beijing, and Guangzhou in China, plus Campeche in Mexico.

The paper calls for an amendment to the International Development Act 2002 which would require overseas development aid to target regions with a GDP per capita equal to or below the OECD Development Assistance Committee's cut-off for aid eligibility.

The IEA also fears civil servants and aid workers may be drawn to spending money in developed cities in middle-income countries, as these places have better infrastructure, more comfortable living conditions, and established professional networks.

Consequently, there is a risk of taxpayer money ending up in areas which are already relatively affluent, as opposed to the poorest regions which need help the most.

Mark Tovey, paper author and freelance journalist, said: "Taxing hard-working people in left-behind Britain to fund projects in affluent regions abroad is a policy of Robin Hood in reverse, with aid money going to prosperous areas like Ordos in China or Campeche in Mexico - both of which are actually richer than large parts of the UK.

"We urgently need to reevaluate our aid priorities to ensure that UK taxpayers' money supports the world's poorest, focusing on stamping out infectious diseases, ending hunger, and genuinely lifting those in desperate need out of poverty.”

Express.co.uk has contacted the FDCO for comment.