Jon Snow: Can we take advantage of your presence with us Foreign Secretary and just ask you about Zimbabwe? The UN is considering tougher individual sanctions on members of the elite in Zimbabwe. But it's been tricky getting these sanctions agreed by South Africa. Do you believe that tonight's motion will be accepted by South Africa?
David Miliband: Well I haven't spoken to our UN Ambassador in the last few hours. But we're working very hard, because I think it's vital that President Mugabe and his retinue of elite people who are keeping him going feel the pain that is being suffered by the rest of Zimbabwe's population. And we're working very hard at a UN and an EU level to have targeted sanctions on the people who sustain the regime. No succour for the regime is our principle. We want to protect the people of Zimbabwe, not least by giving them humanitarian aid, which we'll continue to do, but we'll hopefully make progress at the UN today or tomorrow.
Snow: Are you absolutely clear that no British banks, Barclays or any others who have a big presence in Zimbabwe, are not in any way facilitating any of these individuals?
Miliband: Well I haven't been through all the bank accounts myself, but I know that there are subsidiaries and banks that employ large numbers of Zimbabweans. The dividing line for us is misery for the regime, okay good; misery for the Zimbabwean people, that's something we want to avoid. And I hope...
Snow: ...Well that, that brings us to Tesco's, doesn't it? There are a lot of farmers affected. It may only be a million pounds of trade, but it's a lot of farmers. That is misery for quite a lot of people that Tesco's have closed down their operation there. Were they right?
Miliband: Well I read actually, or I heard that actually Tesco were trying to find a way to make sure that the firm, the farmers themselves weren't out of pocket. So I'm not able to comment on the precise details, but I think they did try, or I heard that they tried to address precisely this point. I think...
Snow: ...Nevertheless there's the principle of, of companies pulling out of agricultural produce, which surely does affect a lot of people?
Miliband: Well I'm concerned with the practicality. I don't want more misery for the Zimbabwean people; I do want as much misery as possible for Mugabe and his regime. And I think that's the critical way in which we can all work together, whether in Government, whether businesses or consumers. And we've got to make sure that the outrage that's felt around the world, not least in Southern Africa, who are suffering the consequences of Mugabe's misrule, all have their, have their say. The truth is that Zimbabwe is in economic crisis and political limbo at, at the moment, and we've got to make sure that the limbo doesn't become continued Mugabe misrule.
This is an extract from the transcript of an interview by David Miliband, British Foreign Secretary, on Channel 4 news, July 2 2008. Issued by the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office.
