Cameron denies G20 summit is ‘meaningless’

David Cameron said the G20 would see agreements both on reform of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – so that the rising nations of China and India could have a proper role – and around bank lending and a free trade area for Africa.

Both accords have been anticipated, and the G20 has faced criticism that nothing is really being achieved with the Seoul meeting.

But, in an interview with Channel 4 News Political Editor Gary Gibbon, Mr Cameron disagreed: “I don’t accept that this is a meaningless meeting,” he said.

“People have a right to protest peacefully, but some were hell-bent on destruction.” Prime Minister David Cameron on yesterday’s student protests in London

“The G20 is important. It’s good that countries are coming together and avoiding protectionism. That might be happening if we were not meeting and there are some serious and sensible things being done.”

However, he accepted that the economic imbalances would be unlikely to be settled at this summit.

“Whether we can get agreement on the key issue, the imbalances – the wall of money in the East and the wall of debt in the West – there is progress, but whether we get a really meaty agreement, we’re still not clear on that.”

Read: Economics Editor Faisal Islam’s blog on the Rise of the Redback and economic change

Student protests

Turning to the UK, Mr Cameron spoke of his “worry” over the riots in London yesterday, when the student fees march erupted into a day of violence.

“I don’t think we should see in any way the behaviour we saw from some of those people as acceptable,” he said.

“People have a right to protest peacefully but some were hell-bent on destruction…That is not acceptable behaviour,” he said. “The scenes were very worrying.”

He also paid tribute to the police on the scene, but stressed that the police had also accepted that lessons would have to be learned.

Welfare

The Prime Minister also defended Iain Duncan Smith’s announcement today over the welfare system overhaul, in which the unemployed will face tougher rules.

Unemployed claimants who turn down offers of work, refuse to apply for jobs or fail to turn up for interviews will lose their Job Seekers Allowance. If they do this once, they lose the £65-a-week allowance for three months. If they do this twice, for six months; and if they do this three times, for three years.

Mr Cameron said he hoped this would not happen, as the aim of the change was to prevent people turning down jobs, and instead getting them into work.

He also said too much “discretion” had been applied over similar sanctions in the past, saying this time the benefit cut would be “automatic”.

China

Mr Cameron defended his meetings in China with the Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, saying “nothing and no-one was off the agenda” in terms of China’s human rights record.

Mr Cameron promoted democracy in his China speech earlier this week and stayed on message in his comments today.

“Torture is neither right nor effective.” David Cameron on waterboarding

He did not respond directly to a question about whether he brought up whether the Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo’s imprisonment, saying only: “In our discussions about human rights, I think it’s important we raise these issues privately, not using a megaphone.

“But in the discussions we had, like I said, there was no individual or issue that was off limits…and that’s the way I intend to do it.”

He said it was important to maintain a dialogue with China.

Waterboarding

He also condemned again former President George W Bush’s comments that “waterboarding” prevented UK attacks.

He said places like Guantanamo Bay had served to radicalise people and actually put countries at risk, rather than save lives.

“Torture is neither right nor effective,” he said.