Gordon Brown and Jack Straw will this weekend seek to persuade the Bush administration of the need to tackle poverty in Africa.

In talks with US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, the chancellor and foreign secretary will say that poverty on the continent hampers the war against terrorism.

Brown told the Guardian: "We will be trying to persuade America that debt relief and extra finance for development is in its interests not just because it is good economics and social policy but good for security as well."

Meanwhile, the Telegraph reports that between 60 and 70 senior diplomats have agreed to retire early as the Foreign Office looks to cut costs to pay for the war on terror.