A host of celebrities threw their weight behind an urgent call to the Government today urging them to plough more money into overseas aid for the world's poorest countries.

Film and music stars including Jude Law, Bono and Minnie Driver have signed an open letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair and Chancellor Gordon Brown, calling on them to lead a breakthrough on poverty.

The letter is intended to reach the Government as it decides UK budgets for the next three years, which will determine the size of the pot for aid until 2008. The comprehensive spending review is expected later this month.

Justin Forsyth, policy director of Oxfam, said millions in Africa were still living in absolute poverty, 20 years after the Ethiopian famine.

He said the figures printed in the letter spoke for themselves.

"One billion people do not have access to clean water, 6,400 are dying from AIDS in Africa every day and over 100 million children in the world do not get a chance to go to school," he said.

"Next year Blair and Brown are poised to lead a breakthrough on reducing poverty but they must lay the groundwork now by making sure there is money in the bank to fund it.

"Tony Blair has said he wants to focus on aid development and poverty next year but if we don't pressure them to act now it will be all rhetoric and no action.

"If we go into 2005 with not much to offer it will be hard to get the French, Germans and Italians to give something bigger."

Mr Forsyth said this was the time to act, as budgets were being prepared and as Britain was poised to host the G8 summit and the EU presidency next year. The events also coincide with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid and the 10th anniversary of Comic Relief.

Credibility

"This is a test of credibility as to whether they are prepared to act on their promises," he added.

Development campaigners warned the UK Government and other rich countries they must reach their promised targets of spending 0.7% national income on aid.

NGOs including Oxfam, Christian Aid and DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa) said if they didn't reach this target, international goals to halve world poverty and improve education and health by 2015 would fail.

Celebrities who have signed the letter include Dame Helen Mirren, Colin Firth, Chris Martin, Joseph Fiennes, Ms Dynamite, Zoe Wanamaker and Dame Anita Roddick.

U2 singer Bono and Sir Bob Geldof have sent a letter to all UK MPs calling on them to urge both Mr Blair and Mr Brown to dramatically increase the aid budget beyond 0.4% GNI in the next budget.

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