Wolfowitz's corruption policy defeated

SINGAPORE - Paul Wolfowitz, the head of the World Bank, suffered defeat over his flagship policy to fight corruption yesterday after member countries insisted they would take over control of the plan from its management.

In a significant victory for Britain's Development Secretary Hilary Benn, the bank's development committee said it would take "oversight" of the plan and demanded a progress report in six months.

Wolfowitz, who was US deputy defence secretary during the Iraq war, had wanted the bank to link its loans and grants with its fight against corruption.

Benn launched a high-profile critique of the plan before the meetings in Singapore, saying it could lead to the bank "walking away" from poor people simply because of the venal behaviour of their leaders.

After a lively meeting of the committee of 24 development ministers, the communique said the "principal objective" of the bank was to help states deliver services to the poor.

- INDEPENDENT