The Foreign Office has taken the unusual step of rejecting Zimbabwe’s new ambassador, a close ally of President Mugabe who is linked to the policy of expropriating white-owned land, according to sources in Harare.

Ray Ndhlukula, 56, a deputy chief secretary in Mr Mugabe’s office, was one of the main beneficiaries of the regime’s land grab. His seizures of several farms in the western province of Matabeleland and his repeated flouting of court orders to vacate them have been widely publicised in Zimbabwe’s independent newspapers.

His appointment to London was reported by the press in Zimbabwe and sources there confirmed (Times)

•Photo shows rejected ambassadoer Ray Ndhlukula.