The UK charity that co-ordinates humanitarian appeals has stopped commissioning evaluations of how the money is spent, potentially raising questions over whether millions of pounds in donations are being used effectively.

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), an umbrella body representing the country’s 13 leading aid agencies which disbursed more than £100m in 2007-08, last requested a full evaluation of an appeal in 2005 and has removed reports of earlier studies from its website.