Bono makes surprise appearance at Tory conference

Bono made a surprise appearance at the Conservative party conference by video link.

The U2 singer and aid campaigner, who appeared last week in a video to introduce Gordon Brown's keynote speech at Labour's gathering in Brighton, was introduced by the party's deputy leader, William Hague, as someone "you don't normally hear from at Conservative conferences".

Bono made a short pre-recorded speech, encouraging the Tories to maintain their commitment to international development, but stopped short of making any party political endorsement.

He said: "Hello there, if you can swallow an Irish man saying what's great about Great Britain, indulge me for a minute. Because what's happened over the last few years in Britain's relationship with the developing world has been so inspiring to me."

Bono went on to encourage the Tories in their current commitment to ringfence international development and despite cutting back in other areas, keep to the target to spend 0.7% of GDP on international aid. He said: "It's a brave thing: keeping Britain's aid promise to the developing world, but it is the right thing to do and it is what's great about great Britain."

Bono has acknowledged before that he is regarded as "Labour's apologist" over his defence of the government's attempts to drive deals on international poverty and the Aids crisis.

In 2004 Bono appeared on the stage of Labour party conference, where he praised Tony Blair and Gordon Brown's achievements, calling them the John Lennon and Paul McCartney of the global development scene.

source::www.guardian.co.uk