Following his description of Nigeria and Afghanistan as “fantastically corrupt” countries on Wednesday while briefing Queen Elizabeth II on the ongoing anti-corruption summit hosted by the United Kingdom, the British Prime Minister, David Cameron on Wednesday attempted a mea culpa, noting that he made many “unforced errors” in the last 24 hours.
In an apparent attempt to reverse his unguarded remark which has brought him lots of criticism, the Prime Minister pointed out that both countries have made “remarkable steps forward” in fighting corruption.
Speaking when he was summoned by the House of Commons over disparaging comments about Nigeria and Afghanistan, the British leader regretted that he has made He stated that the leaders of Nigeria and Afghanistan were “battling hard” to tackle the scourge.
Briefing the Members of Parliament, MPs, he said: “First of all I had better check the microphone is on before speaking… tips on diplomacy are useful, given the last 24 hours I have made many unforced errors.
“The leaders of Nigeria and Afghanistan are battling hard against very corrupt systems and have made remarkable steps forward.”
The Scottish national party leader, Angus Robertson had asked Cameron if he had heard the complaints of some Nigerian anti-corruption activists who said their efforts were “seriously undermined” by the UK authorities.
“The role of London’s property market to conceal stolen wealth has been exposed in court documents, reports, documentaries and more. What is the Prime Minister going to do about this?” Robertson reportedly asked.
The Prime Minister responded by saying: “Action is necessary by developed countries as well as developing countries and the steps we are taking to make sure that foreign companies that own UK property have to declare who the beneficial owner is will be one of the ways we make sure that plundered money from African countries can’t be hidden in London.”
