Ministers accused of being ‘asleep at the wheel’ over UK’s soft power around the world | UK news

Ministers have been accused of being “asleep at the wheel” over threats to the UK’s soft power around the world, as some of their own advisers warned a funding crisis is undermining key institutions promoting British influence.

Members of the government’s new soft power council, set up by ministers earlier this year, warned the BBC World Service, the British Council and universities – regarded as the bodies at the forefront of the UK’s soft power efforts – all face major financial pressures.

There are concerns that the institutions could suffer further in next week’s spending review, despite ministers facing calls to “step up” their soft power efforts. It comes with Donald Trump defunding soft power institutions backed by the US, just as Russia and China spend…