British firms trading in Zimbabwe refuse to sign ethical code
Ministers mounted a secret campaign to persuade huge British firms to adopt “an ethical approach” to their investments in Zimbabwe, amid concerns that some could be “silently complicit” in Robert Mugabe’s reign of terror, documents obtained by The Independent on Sunday have revealed.A clutch of internal Foreign Office (FCO) emails lay bare the Government’s deepening fears over the damage 16 companies trading with the pariah state could do to Britain’s reputation as it struggled to defuse the crisis over Mr Mugabe’s “stolen election”. But they also demonstrate how ministers were powerless to control the firms, including Barclays, Shell and BP, by persuading them to sign up to a voluntary agreement to uphold human rights in Zimbabwe. The FCO last night confirmed that ministers had failed to thrash out an “optional ethical code” with investors. Image source : bp3.blogger.com > Continue.
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