MPs have demanded to know why £1.85 million of foreign aid funding was spent on the Pope’s recent visit to the UK.

An influential Commons committee called on ministers to explain how diverting development cash to subsidise the trip, which included a visit to Birmingham, met global aid rules.

The “somewhat surprising” transfer to the Foreign Office (FCO) was queried following a detailed investigation of the annual accounts of the Department for International Development.

Initial figures published in November put the cost to Whitehall departments of the four-day state visit in November at £10 million.

Malcolm Bruce, who chairs the international development select committee, said voters would struggle to understand why DfID money was involved.

“Many people will be as surprised as we were to discover that UK aid money was used to fund the Pope’s visit last year,” he said.