Mr. Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswold) (Con): Is the Foreign Secretary aware that the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs estimates that by next spring up to 6 million Zimbabweans may be in need of food aid? What representations has the British Government made to the non-functioning Zimbabwe Government to allow NGOs and others who can build up proper food stocks to do so, so that those people do not suffer?

David Miliband: That is precisely the issue that the Secretary of State for International Development and I discussed with the Secretary-General of the UN in New York. The hon. Gentleman is right to say that the projections for famine are stark and clear. The UN is an important part of the process, but he is also right to say that the relaxation of the ban on NGOs is a critical part of the agreement that now needs to be adhered to.

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