This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/may/12/david-cameron-london-anti-corruption-summit-live
The article has changed 15 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| David Cameron opens London summit describing corruption as 'a cancer' – live | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 10.18am BST | |
| 10:18 | |
| Cameron says he is looking to business for support, saying accountants have sometimes been “enablers” of corruption. | |
| He wants to address how assets can be recovered, with new legislation in 21 new countries, how to tackle corruption and how to punish the corrupt. | |
| Cameron says they want to find new methods to drive out corruption not just from parliament but national bodies like sport. He says this is about “changing culture”, not just practices. | |
| The audience will be able to challenge the suggestions and ask questions throughout, he says. | |
| 10.15am BST | |
| 10:15 | |
| David Cameron opens summit calling corruption 'a cancer' | |
| If we want to tackle extremism, we have to tackle corruption. If we want to deal with people not paying their taxes, if we want to deal with money laundering, we have to deal with corruption. | |
| Cameron says the issue hit home for him was when he went with Ban Ki Moon to developing countries to ask about clear goals neededto replace the millenium development goals. | |
| He says people wanted justice and action on corruption as much as they wanted clean water and sanitation | |
| 9.58am BST | |
| 09:58 | |
| The summit’s plenary opening session ‘The cost of corruption’ will be starting in the next ten minutes. | |
| David Cameron will make the opening remarks and then we’re expecting to hear from: | |
| That’ll be followed by a Q&A, and you should be able to follow it on the livestream above. | |
| Updated | |
| at 10.04am BST | |
| 9.49am BST | |
| 09:49 | |
| Anti-corruption summit criticised for absence of Fifa, Panama | |
| One international body is notable for their absence - Fifa. Corruption in sport is a key focus of the summit but the football governing organisation was not invited by the Prime Minister, despite being mired in a corruption scandal. | |
| Downing Street said the International Olympic Committee would instead be involved in a panel discussion on financial crimes in sport. A Downing Street spokesman told the Telegraph they had invited only one representative body from sport. | |
| There is one focus session which will be on sport, which is clearly, absolutely, the top of the agenda when we are talking about corruption. | |
| Labour deputy leader Tom Watson laid into the PM over this omission today, telling PoliticsHome: “What’s the point of having an anti-corruption summit if you fail to invite either the overseas territory that profits from it or the sports body that’s become a byword for corruption? Like so many Cabinet Office initiatives, this is shaping up to be a failure before it’s even started.” | |
| And one country is notable for its absence too - Panama. A government spokesman confirmed they had also not been invited. | |
| They are a special case. They have not been invited, but we are trying to work with them bilaterally. | |
| FAIL -> Neither Panama nor British Virgin Islands were at Cameron's much vaunted anti-corruption summit. https://t.co/c4mDkLYjJ8 | |
| Updated | |
| at 9.50am BST | |
| 9.33am BST | 9.33am BST |
| 09:33 | 09:33 |
| Oxfam have organised a protest in Trafalgar Square, with “bankers” in bowler hats on a beach, representing tax havens. | Oxfam have organised a protest in Trafalgar Square, with “bankers” in bowler hats on a beach, representing tax havens. |
| Bermuda and the Cayman Islands are represented at the summit but others, such as the British Virgin Islands, are not. | Bermuda and the Cayman Islands are represented at the summit but others, such as the British Virgin Islands, are not. |
| Campaigners have insisted Britain must go further to tackle corruption than the measures announced today, and insist that the territories’ ownership registers are made public. | Campaigners have insisted Britain must go further to tackle corruption than the measures announced today, and insist that the territories’ ownership registers are made public. |
| In a letter coordinated by Oxfam ahead of the summit, more than 300 economists argued that tax havens produce no economic benefit and “are distorting the working of the global economy.” | In a letter coordinated by Oxfam ahead of the summit, more than 300 economists argued that tax havens produce no economic benefit and “are distorting the working of the global economy.” |
| Signatories included American academic Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University, France’s Thomas Piketty and Nobel economics laureate Angus Deaton. | Signatories included American academic Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University, France’s Thomas Piketty and Nobel economics laureate Angus Deaton. |
| It’s time to #EndTaxHavens 🚫🌴💰RT if you agree @David_Cameron must take tough action today #AntiCorruption pic.twitter.com/KyLbcKzts0 | It’s time to #EndTaxHavens 🚫🌴💰RT if you agree @David_Cameron must take tough action today #AntiCorruption pic.twitter.com/KyLbcKzts0 |
| Very 'comfortable' on my tax haven.... #endtaxhavens pic.twitter.com/DygotDbDnt | Very 'comfortable' on my tax haven.... #endtaxhavens pic.twitter.com/DygotDbDnt |
| early morning bankers enjoying their #taxhaven @oxfamcampaigns #EndTaxHavens #anticorruption pic.twitter.com/RKcLFAPt86 | early morning bankers enjoying their #taxhaven @oxfamcampaigns #EndTaxHavens #anticorruption pic.twitter.com/RKcLFAPt86 |
| Life's a beach if you're a tax dodger. Join our pop up tax haven in Trafalgar Square! #EndTaxHavens #anticorruption pic.twitter.com/tYvEbpwa7W | Life's a beach if you're a tax dodger. Join our pop up tax haven in Trafalgar Square! #EndTaxHavens #anticorruption pic.twitter.com/tYvEbpwa7W |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 9.41am BST | at 9.41am BST |
| 9.24am BST | 9.24am BST |
| 09:24 | 09:24 |
| We’re expecting there to be some protests on the fringes of the summit, with so many world leaders in attendance, though there are relatively few out at the moment, and far outnumbered by police. | We’re expecting there to be some protests on the fringes of the summit, with so many world leaders in attendance, though there are relatively few out at the moment, and far outnumbered by police. |
| 9.20am BST | 9.20am BST |
| 09:20 | 09:20 |
| There’s now a livestream of the arrivals at Lancaster House at the top of this live blog, though we don’t expect there to be anything more than arrivals until 10am. | There’s now a livestream of the arrivals at Lancaster House at the top of this live blog, though we don’t expect there to be anything more than arrivals until 10am. |
| For now, you can see world leaders being greeted by the Foreign Office minister Hugo Swire, accompanied by some tinkling background music. | For now, you can see world leaders being greeted by the Foreign Office minister Hugo Swire, accompanied by some tinkling background music. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 9.27am BST | at 9.27am BST |
| 8.55am BST | 8.55am BST |
| 08:55 | 08:55 |
| Heads of state have begun arriving at Lancaster House for the summit, which begins at 10am with an opening address from David Cameron. | Heads of state have begun arriving at Lancaster House for the summit, which begins at 10am with an opening address from David Cameron. |
| No detailed itinerary for the day has been made public but we’re expecting opening remarks from the prime minister, US secretary of state John Kerry and Nigeria’s President Buhari. | No detailed itinerary for the day has been made public but we’re expecting opening remarks from the prime minister, US secretary of state John Kerry and Nigeria’s President Buhari. |
| Others attending the summit include president of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani, Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank, Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos, Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, Erna Solberg, Norway’s prime minister, Ángel Gurría, secretary general of the OECD and Maithripala Sirisena, president of Sri Lanka. | Others attending the summit include president of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani, Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank, Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos, Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, Erna Solberg, Norway’s prime minister, Ángel Gurría, secretary general of the OECD and Maithripala Sirisena, president of Sri Lanka. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 9.26am BST | at 9.26am BST |
| 8.32am BST | 8.32am BST |
| 08:32 | 08:32 |
| Cameron launches anti-corruption summit in London | Cameron launches anti-corruption summit in London |
| World leaders, heads of civil society and business are arriving for an anti-corruption summit in the UK capital. | World leaders, heads of civil society and business are arriving for an anti-corruption summit in the UK capital. |
| Ahead of the summit, the prime minister announced he would introduce a new corporate offence for executives who fail to prevent fraud or money laundering inside their companies, to counter claims that the aims of the summit ring hollow with London’s reputation as the money laundering capital of the world . | Ahead of the summit, the prime minister announced he would introduce a new corporate offence for executives who fail to prevent fraud or money laundering inside their companies, to counter claims that the aims of the summit ring hollow with London’s reputation as the money laundering capital of the world . |
| In an article for the Guardian, Cameron describes corruption as “the cancer at the heart of so many of the world’s problems” and says it destroys jobs, traps the poorest in poverty, weakens security and even undermines sport. | In an article for the Guardian, Cameron describes corruption as “the cancer at the heart of so many of the world’s problems” and says it destroys jobs, traps the poorest in poverty, weakens security and even undermines sport. |
| Here’s how the day will pan out: | Here’s how the day will pan out: |
| The all-day summit at Lancaster House will be attended by the US secretary of state, John Kerry, and world leaders including Muhammadu Buhari, the Nigerian president, and Ashraf Ghani, the president of Afghanistan. Cameron was caught on camera on Tuesday describing both countries as “fantastically corrupt”. | The all-day summit at Lancaster House will be attended by the US secretary of state, John Kerry, and world leaders including Muhammadu Buhari, the Nigerian president, and Ashraf Ghani, the president of Afghanistan. Cameron was caught on camera on Tuesday describing both countries as “fantastically corrupt”. |
| Buhari, who was elected on a mandate to fight corruption did not demand an apology from Cameron, saying the prime minister was “being honest”, but added: | Buhari, who was elected on a mandate to fight corruption did not demand an apology from Cameron, saying the prime minister was “being honest”, but added: |
| Unfortunately, our experience has been that repatriation of corrupt proceeds is very tedious, time consuming, costly ... The repatriation of identified stolen funds should be done without delay or preconditions. | Unfortunately, our experience has been that repatriation of corrupt proceeds is very tedious, time consuming, costly ... The repatriation of identified stolen funds should be done without delay or preconditions. |
| Cameron has made a series of policy pledges to coincide with the launch of the summit. | Cameron has made a series of policy pledges to coincide with the launch of the summit. |
| The summit will also hear a discussion on world sport though Fifa, the football governing body in the midst of a corruption scandal, will not attend. | The summit will also hear a discussion on world sport though Fifa, the football governing body in the midst of a corruption scandal, will not attend. |
| In the spirit of openness, Cameron has pledged that none of the sessions will be held behind closed doors, with all of the discussions live-streamed. | In the spirit of openness, Cameron has pledged that none of the sessions will be held behind closed doors, with all of the discussions live-streamed. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 9.25am BST | at 9.25am BST |