The opposition has called for the release if detainees. Do you support that?

In my meeting with Prime Minister Meles - and I met him and the opposition leaders - I first of all expressed the British government’s grave concern about the situation here in Ethiopia. I raised with Prime Minister Meles specifically the question of those who have been detained, the importance of allowing access by the Red Cross to the detention facilities, the importance of notifying the families of those being detained of what’s happened to them and the need either for people either to be charged in line with Ethiopian law or for them to be released. I also raised with him the circumstances of the CUD party workers who have been detained not least because it is very important that everyone should be able to concentrate on the National Election Board process in order to ensure that the complaints that have been made about the election process can be determined. I also raised with the prime minister in expressing my profound regret and sadness in the loss of life and expressed my condolences to the families who have been killed, the importance of there being a full investigation. The Prime Minister told me there would be an investigation and the results of that would be published. And I said both to the Prime Minister and to the opposition leaders that I met that the priority in these circumstances is for calm and restraint on all sides, for upholding the constitution, human rights and the rule of law, and ensuring that the NEB process can now enable the voice of the people to be heard because that is what this election has been about. The people of Ethiopia have spoken and the NEB must now be allowed to do its work and all of the parties must accept its outcome.

What impact will this have on the UK’s aid to Ethiopia?

We have a very large and important aid programme here in Ethiopia. There is a great deal of poverty and the country has been making progress. Indeed we have not all that long ago committed to the new safety net programme which is trying to address the issue of food security. But we have been planning to increase our direct budget support. I am currently putting that on hold while we review how the situation here in Ethiopia develops. I hope very much that there will be a return to the constitutional path, upholding of the NEB process. But it is also at the same time very, very important that the poor of Ethiopia do not suffer as a result of what has been happening here. And the international community I am sure, and it will go for other donors as well, will be watching very carefully so that we can take appropriate decisions at the appropriate time.

Could you give us more detail on the aid freeze?

I am putting on hold the planned increase in direct budget support that we were looking at which was £30 million [later corrected to £20 million] - that is currently on hold. We haven’t yet got to the point where we would have been taking that decision. We are working up to the time for that decision to be made. In my view it is sensible to hold on that to see how the situation develops. But, can I make it absolutely clear, that Britain remains to the development partnership that we have with Ethiopia above all because it is in the interests of the Ethiopian people and I do not want the poor to suffer as a result of what has happened here in the past few weeks.

Will this have any impact of debt cancellation?

Well, in the debt cancellation agreement that was reached last weekend by Gordon Brown there is a commitment to good governance. And in the run up to the G8 Summit I think what happens here is Ethiopia is a very important test if Africa’s commitment to good governance and that’s why I urge all of the parties to show restraint, for there not to be further demonstrations. The complete focus and energy of everyone must now be on the NEB process because there isn’t yet an election result declared in Ethiopia. There needs to be because the people want to hear that the voice that they have expressed in the ballot box is expressed in the final outcome. And that’s where the focus must be. And I welcome the fact that the parties have reached agreement on a means of ensuring that the NEB can get on with its work and it is important that everybody allows the NEB to do that so the result can be declared as soon as possible, the complaints having been investigated and the NEB having done its job.

What impact will this have on Britain’s relationship with Ethiopia?

Well I’ve talked about the importance that we attach to the importance of upholding the constitutional principles and the rule of law. But we remain a committed partner. I welcome the fact that the Prime Minister said to me today that, in view of the terrible loss of life, he doesn’t want anything like that to happen again. I welcome the fact that he has told me that there will be an investigation and there will be a report published into that investigation. I welcome the commitment that he made to me that due process would be followed in relation to those who have been detained. I also handed him a list of five names about whom Amnesty International and a journalists organisation have expressed particular concern so that those could be looked into. What we will need to watch and see is what now happens. There has been this terrible incident, an awful loss of life. But there is now this opportunity for the government and for the opposition to use the NEB process to resolve this. And it is important that this happens because it is of fundamental importance to the future of Ethiopia and to Ethiopia’s relationship not just with the United Kingdom which has been a strong supporter through the development programme but also as I saw to the continent of Africa in this very important time in the run up to the G8 summit.

Do you think Meles Zenawi should be a member of the Commission for Africa?

Well. Prime Minister Meles has been one of the commissioners on the Commission for Africa. The Commission’s work is now done. We have published our report. He made a very important contribution to that. The focus now moves with the Commission for Africa’s recommendations out there to the Gleneagles summit where there will be a very important discussion about aid and trade and debt relief. We have already seen the focus the British government has put on the G8 and delivering in terms of the EU aid agreement that was reached three weeks ago which we negotiated as EU development ministers and of course the debt cancellation agreement reached last weekend by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Those are the fruits of the focus on Africa. But it has to be in the spirit of partnership. The deal is Africa honours its commitments on good governance, peace and security and the rest of the world honours its commitments on aid and debt relief and opening up trade so that Africa in the next generation can earn and trade its way out of poverty. Thank you very much indeed.