The spirit of the G8 ‘make poverty history’ summit of 2005 seems long gone | Heather Stewart

The 2008 crash, Trump, aid budget cuts and a more fragmented world has made debt relief seem a lost cause but there are murmurs of a renaissance

Twenty years ago this weekend, the leaders of the world's most powerful countries, chaired by Tony Blair, gathered at the Scottish golf resort of Gleneagles and made a series of historic promises on debt relief and overseas aid.

It was the culmination of a long-running campaign involving charities, churches and celebrities and benefited from the passionate commitment of Gordon Brown, for whom international development is a lifelong cause.