British stars urge leaders to aid Africa

LONDON, June 2 (UPI) -- Jude Law, Minnie Driver and Helen Mirren were among the celebrity names on a petition urging Britain's prime minister to give more aid to Africa.

An open letter to Tony Blair and Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, published in the London Times to coincide with British budget talks, asked Britain's leaders to head up a historic drive to end global poverty, Britain's Mirror reported Wednesday.

The government is reviewing the level of aid disbursements through 2008, the Mirror said.

The open letter began: "Dear Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Aid works -- increase it now."

Coldplay's Chris Martin, Body Shop founder Anita Roddick and actor Tony Robinson also signed the letter.

In related news, U2's Bono met in Dublin with European Union officials to push the same message.

Bono, who ruled out a repeat of 1984's Live Aid concert that helped fight Ethiopian hunger to assist the problem, said the British government needs to step up.

"The time is ripe for the (United Kingdom) to take a lead on tackling global poverty," Bono said.