The National Security Council (NSC) is asking officials from the Department for International Development (DfID) to ensure aid projects make the "maximum possible contribution" to British national security.

A leaked DfID document advises staff who draw up bids for aid that: "The national security council has said the ODA [Overseas Development Administration] budget should make the maximum possible contribution to national security consistent with ODA rules. Although the NSC will not, in most cases, direct DfID spend in country, we need to be able to make the case for how our work contributes to national security."

The document said officials must show how projects in “fragile states” contribute to security “through 'upstream' prevention that helps to stop potential threats to the UK developing (including work to improve health and education, provide water, build roads, improve governance and security)".

Gareth Thomas, the shadow international development minister, told The Guardian the document was deeply worrying as it confirmed fears that "The government plans to securitise the aid budget, and weaken its focus in prioritising resources on the poorest people and countries.

"It is, of course, right that our development and national security efforts are complementary and co-ordinated,” he said, “particularly in countries like Afghanistan. But there is a significant risk that we will see our aid budget increasingly geared to narrow security priorities, instead of meeting the wider needs of the poorest and most vulnerable people."

A DfID spokesperson said: "A review of all of the UK's bilateral aid is looking at all DfID's programmes, but has yet to reach any conclusions. All DfID funding is, and will continue to be, governed by internationally agreed definitions of what constitutes aid."