The government has trebled its aid commitment to Asia following unprecedented public donations to charities.

The Department for International Development announced on Thursday that it was raising its contribution to the tsunami recovery operation from £15 million to £50 million making the UK one of the biggest aid contributors.

Ministers have faced criticism that the initial offering was too small in the wake of the scale of the disaster, which has hit at least seven countries and so far cost at least 114,000 lives.

The figure was also set to be dwarfed by the British public's own effort, with an initial £25 million raised in the hours after Wednesday night's television appeal from the Disasters Emergency Committee umbrella group.

But while paying tribute to the public's response, international development secretary Hilary Benn said the £15 million was only ever a starting point.

"“We have looked at the initial assessments from our teams on the ground," he said.

"We have also received financial appeals from the Red Cross, the UN and from a large number of UK aid agencies. And it is now sadly clear that the scale of destruction and loss of life is increasing all the time.

"I have said from the start of this crisis that we would make available the money needed. This pledge means that the UK government is now the largest bilateral donor in this emergency.

"It will also support the extraordinarily generous response from the British public to the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal.

"We will use this money to respond to appeals from international aid agencies and to help get relief supplies to the countries affected.

"Today we are airlifting World Health Organisation medical supplies to Indonesia because there's an urgent need for medical support. We are providing 10 emergency health kits that each provide basic medical supplies for 10 thousand people for three months."