Hilary Benn

Benn said Britain was still "fully committed to supporting the people of Ethiopia in their fight against poverty" and would seek other ways of helping without giving direct grants to the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

The 50 million pounds (91 million dollars, 75 million euros) in budget aid is part of a total of 90 million pounds earmarked by Britain for the Horn of Africa state in 2006, according to British authorities here.

"Direct budget support is an expression of trust and confidence in a government, and I have to say that there has been a breach of trust in the light of what has happened in Ethiopia since June," Benn told reporters after meeting Meles.

Britain had already suspended 20 million pounds of the 50-million-pound sum in June, after violence that exploded in post-election demonstrations in which at least 36 people were killed, most by police.

After further clashes in November which killed close to 50 others, the government detained thousands of people accused of fomenting violence and 131 opposition figures and journalists have been charged with treason and other crimes for allegedly plotting a coup d’etat.

The European Commission also froze its direct aid to Meles’s government last month in response to the political situation, saying it would not affect humanitarian aid but block about 150 million euros earmarked for infrastructure work.

The Financial Times reported in December that donors were to withhold 375 million dollars (317 million euros) in aid to Addis Ababa because of the clampdown on political opposition.

The British minister visited humanitarian aid projects in Addis Ababa on Tuesday, and met Meles and opposition parliament members on Wednesday, before flying back to Britain.

He said he had urged Meles "to take steps that would help Ethiopia to return to a democratic development process".

(ST/AFP)