Tsvangirai asks Britain to remove sanctions on Mugabe and his cronies

Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has asked British Prime Minister David Cameron to remove western imposed sanctions on President Robert Mugabe and his cronies.

Tsvangirai revealed this in Parliament Wednesday while responding to a question by Zanu-PF MP for Mwenezi East, Kudakwashe Bhasikiti who sought clarification on the object of his recent visit to London.

"I met the Prime Minister of the UK Mr Cameron specifically on issues of this nature (sanctions), that you cannot encourage reform by removing certain people and leaving certain people on the list because it is actually a discouraging move," he said.

Tsvangirai, who was speaking for the first time since coming back from his controversial visit to Britain last week, said he also asked the British premier to impress upon the rich western countries to help the country clear its debts. He said debt was slowing economic recovery in the country.