BRITISH business leaders hope to play a part in the reconstruction of Zimbabwe after a meeting in London yesterday with Morgan Tsvangirai, prime minister of the troubled African nation.

Tsvangirai spoke to a group of top businessmen, including Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of the advertising and media group WPP, and Sir Richard Branson of Virgin.

Tsvangirai is on a tour of western capitals to drum up aid and investment for Zimbabwe’s shattered economy. He has already met Barack Obama and Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and meets Gordon Brown tomorrow. It is his first official trip since being appointed prime minister in a power-sharing agreement with Robert Mugabe.

David Miliband, the foreign secretary, said Tsvangirai was “ready to seize this historic opportunity for change in Zimbabwe. His country is in desperate need of investment and economic development. The British government and British business are ready to do what we can.”

Hyperinflation has wrecked what was once one of Africa’s most prosperous nations.

“We had one of the healthiest economies in Africa,” said Tsvangirai. “The people, natural resources and basic infra-structure are ready to be invested in once again.”

Sorrell said: “They have tremendous natural resources, and they want companies like ours to come and help them.”

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