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.

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.