According to the report, the money - designated for famine relief - was then diverted to support military and political campaigns, including through arms purchases. One of the rebels said that as many as $US95 million ($A105 million) may have been siphoned off, leaving only five per cent of the received funds for relief efforts.

Geldof and the World Service’s news and current affairs editor Andrew Whitehead participated in a fiery debate on the World Service last night. He told The Independent that “this is a Ross/Brand moment in BBC standards for me”, arguing that the BBC had been deceived by individuals with “a political axe to grind”. But the BBC has given strong backing to Plaut’s report, which the reporter says was based on a wide range of sources over a nine-month investigation.

In a post on the BBC’s website, the director of the World Service Peter Horrocks said that the report was well-founded and included a suitable range of opinions, including those which conflicted with the claims of the rebel leaders interviewed.

“Sir Bob Geldof was given every opportunity to express his point of view while the documentary was being made, but declined to be interviewed."

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