I hope this agreement will see the end of what I call the utterly hypocritical situation in which this country has been for many years. On the one hand we claim to be a friend of the developing world and we have been relatively generous in terms of development aid. Certainly, the commitment of individuals, associations and organisations has set standards of which we are very proud. At the same time we have been among the most enthusiastic supporters of a penal trade policy that has hurt most of the very countries we claim to be friends of.