The BBC stands by Martin Plaut's reporting

Bob Geldof and others who were involved in the Ethiopian famine relief effort of the 80s are vociferously denying that aid money was diverted by Woyane to buy arms. The BBC is standing by its reporter:

The documentary did not say that most famine relief money was used to buy weapons - it did not suggest that any relief agencies were complicit in the diversion of funds - it explicitly stated that "whatever the levels of deception, much aid did reach the starving".

But there is a clear public interest in determining whether some money given as famine relief ended up buying guns and bullets.

And that's what the evidence suggests.

Why are Mr. Geldof and some of the aid agencies so adamant in denying the diversion of aid money? Smells fishy. They should, instead, collaborate with the BBC and call for a thorough investigation.