Efforts by the UK government to tackle corruption at home and abroad must take on a new urgency if its championing of legitimate business practices is to remain credible, says Christian Aid.

People in the poorest countries are being forced into poverty by having to repay hundreds of millions of dollars of illegitimate loans from wealthy Western countries to greedy dictators, an international conference has heard.

The head of the Anglican church in Zimbabwe, Bishop Sebastian Bakare, blames State corruption and political patronage for a collapse in social services in Zimbabwe, where at least 20 people have died of cholera in recent weeks.

An international watchdog which monitors corruption says the UK breached its obligations under international law when it cancelled a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation into arms deals between BAE Systems and Saudi Arabia.

BAE Systems has failed to halt the sharp decline in its reputation despite trying to focus on ethics at its Annual General Meeting in London. The Board faced a barrage of questions from shareholders about corruption and political influence.

Anti-arms trade campaigners say that a new 'ethics' report commissioned by weapons giant BAE Systems will not change public perceptions of the company, following a High Court ruling over investigations into corruption charges.

The High Court has formally quashed the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) decision to drop its corruption investigation into BAE Systems arms deals with Saudi Arabia. The decision is a huge success for the campaign groups that brought the case.

Rich nations are the real beneficiaries of the "boom industry" of global corruption that is making the world's poor even poorer, says a hard-hitting new report from the United Church in Australia. It calls for an end to tax havens.