A defiant President Robert Mugabe once more brushed aside international condemnation to publicly proclaim the success of a so-called urban renewal campaign that has left up to 1.5 million people homeless.

The increasingly autocratic President described Operation Murambatsvina, literally Clear Out the Rubbish, as setting the framework for the creation of a new generation of urban entrepreneurs.

Mr Mugabe's comments came as the African Union side-stepped demands that Zimbabwe’s neighbours act to stop the campaign, saying it could not interfere in the internal affairs of member states.

And Jose Manuel Barroso, the European Commission President, also failed to back growing calls to demand intervention on the eve of talks with President Thabo Mbeki, of South Africa.

M Barroso shied away from any direct criticism of the regime, saying: "We should not be giving lessons."

The EC president's comments stand in stark contrast to those made by Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, and Condoleeza Rice, the US Secretary of State, who both described the ongoing campaign as an outrage that the world could no longer ignore.

Yesterday, G8 ministers called on Zimbabwe to "abide by the rule of law and respect human rights" at a meeting in London that set the tone for next month’s G8 summit in Scotland.

It also emerged this week that hundreds of Zimbabwean asylum-seekers held in British detention centres have begun a hunger strike over the Government’s determination to return those whose applications fail back to Zimbabwe.

Human rights groups and MPs have demanded that the Home Office stop the deportations, and are urging Tony Blair to discuss the plight of the refugees at next month’s G8 summit at Gleneagles.

But in a statement issued tonight, Tony McNulty, the Asylum and Immigration Minister, insisted: "We categorically condemn human rights abuses in Zimbabwe and are committed to providing protection to those Zimbabweans in genuine fear of persecution.

"All asylum applications, including every application from Zimbabwe, are considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. An independent appeals process ensures that this process is properly observed in every case. It is an important part of ensuring an effective and fair immigration and asylum system that those found not to be in need of international protection are removed from the UK.

"Since returns were resumed to Zimbabwe last November we have received no substantiated reports of abuse of any person returned to the country. We do, however, continue to keep the situation under review and will investigate any allegations of mistreatment of returnees."

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