We’re not going to end poverty overnight, says Geldof

BOB GELDOF told a G8 protester yesterday that global poverty would not be ended overnight.

He was responding to accusations that he was too close to politicians such as Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

Geldof said he was a pragmatist, and if the G8 leaders cancelled Third World debt then he would celebrate.

He was speaking as he lit a “flame for justice” as part of a campaign by the charity Christian Aid to hold candlelight vigils during the G8 Summit.

The musician told Leo Murray, who was leading a group of protesters dressed as pirates, that ending global poverty would take time.

“You have got to give people achievable aims and we are not going to end poverty overnight,” he said.

“If we get 100% debt relief then I will celebrate it. You have to have achievable aims and be able to bring people with you.”

But the former lead singer with the Boomtown Rats said his campaign was not cosying up to politicians, and he added: “It is not optimism. I am a pragmatist.”

Mr Murray, wearing a pork pie hat and tweed jacket, had gathered a group of friends together in London to travel to Scotland to protest.

In an animated discussion at the Cramond Causeway on the banks of the Firth of Forth, near Edinburgh, he said he supported what Geldof had done so far, but it was not enough.

The 28-year-old animator from London, who described himself as a “part-time protester” later told reporters: “We do not think that G8 is a legitimate political organisation to discuss global poverty, because it excludes so many people who are affected by its decisions.”

Earlier, Geldof was joined by representatives from Scotland’s faith communities as he lit the “flame for justice”.

He told those gathered at the Cramond Causeway that global poverty was the greatest “moral sore” facing the planet.

“What’s about to happen in this country over the next few days is profound and don’t think you can doubt that for a second,” he said.

“I am just not sure if the eight leaders arriving this morning understand the emotions of 3.8 billion

people last Saturday surrounding a single issue as something so ridiculous as poverty.

“You do not have to be a person of religious faith. This is a wound on the universal human body. This is the greatest moral sore of our time and without question it is the greatest political problem of our time.”

Geldof then joined children to build a cairn in memory of the 30,000 children who die every day from extreme poverty.

Martin Drewry, head of campaigns at Christian Aid, said: “Holding a vigil is a great way to encourage campaigners across the country.

“Vigils can be for an hour or the duration of the summit and involve hundreds of people or just a few.

“Nearly a quarter of a million people were in Edinburgh for the Make Poverty History rally and we are now asking those who could not make it to join in. We want to send a clear message to G8 leaders that we are all still watching you.”