By NEIL SYSON

THE sickening champagne and caviar lifestyle being enjoyed by Earth Summit delegates was exposed yesterday.

They are gorging on mountains of lobster, oysters and fillet steak at the Johannesburg conference — aimed at ending FAMINE.

As the summit began yesterday, desperate kids in nearby shanty towns queued for water at standpipes.

Bigwig politicians among the 60,000 delegates, including Deputy PM John Prescott, also get vintage bubbly and brandy.

Taxpayers are footing the £500,000 bill for the 70-strong British party. Friends of the Earth called the extravagance “deplorable”.

The head chef of the swanky hotel hosting Earth Summit bigwigs described the mountains of posh food he is laying on for their pleasure.

Desperate ... little boy drinks from a standpipe

And Desmond Morgan declared: “Money is no object.”

The chef is in charge of meals at Johannesburg’s five-star Michelangelo Hotel, where world leaders and other VIP delegates are staying during the “save the planet” conference, which opened yesterday.

While people are going hungry at shanty towns just a couple of miles away, Mr Morgan told how he had stocked up with an extraordinary array of delicacies and fine wines.

It includes 5,000 oysters, more than 1,000lbs of lobster and other shellfish, buckets of caviar and piles of pâté de foie gras.

He has also got in more than 4,400lbs of fillet steak and chicken breasts, 450lbs of salmon, 220lbs of a tasty South African fish called kingclip — and more than 1,000lbs of bacon and sausages.

The huge bill is paid for by taxpayers of participating nations including Britain.

Mr Morgan said: “Whether they want Beluga caviar, foie gras or bacon sandwiches — we have it all.

“In my experience, heads of state don’t decide what they want to eat or drink until the last minute.

“So I have to make sure I have everything they can possibly want.”

Vintage champagne, fine wines, spirits and liqueurs have been flown in from around the globe so the VIPs can wash down their meals in style.

Squalor ... shanty woman must get by on scraps

A new kitchen has been especially created for world leaders, including the Sultan of Brunei, who have their own cooks and tasters.

The £35million summit — aimed at combating hunger, poverty and pollution — is centred around Sandton, the most exclusive suburb in Africa.

Its streets are lined with expensive restaurants, gated villas and gleaming shopping malls.

Yet close by, families scratch a desperate existence in the sprawling shanty town of Alexandra.

They live in corrugated shacks. Hungry children play among piles of rubbish and queue for water at standpipes.

The average weekly wage for the few who work in the township is less than the cost of a vintage brandy at the Michelangelo.

Aid agencies say southern Africa is facing its worst food crisis for more than a decade.

More than 14million people — most of them children — are threatened with starvation.

The 60,000 summit delegates from 182 countries are expected to drink 80,000 bottles of mineral water during the conference.

Yet each day 6,000 African children die from diseases caused by contaminated water.

Since the last Earth Summit in Brazil in 1992, the number of Africans living in poverty has soared from 220million to 300million.

Several other environmental issues will be discussed at the ten-day summit, organised by the United Nations.

Feast ... John Prescott

But in another ironic twist, hundreds of trees have been felled around the conference centre so fleets of limousines will have unhindered access.

The 70-strong British delegation, led by Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett, is costing taxpayers £500,000.

Most other countries fund their delegations too — but the poorest nations get financial help from the richest countries.

Tony Blair is scheduled to address the summit for half an hour. He will spend less than 12 hours in his £550-a-night suite, complete with butler service, at the Michelangelo.

Globe-trotting Deputy PM John Prescott arrives at the hotel, which boasts an “executive lifestyle” fitness centre, tomorrow.

He and the British team, which also includes Environment Minister Michael Meacher, have five Mercedes cars at their disposal, plus two people carriers for aides.

Tories have branded Mr Prescott’s trip to South Africa — the 16th country he has visited since April last year — a waste of money. He has no official speaking role at the summit.

The conference’s lavish nature was blasted by environmental campaigners Friends of the Earth last night. Spokesman Mike Childs said:

"It is to be deplored, especially as politicians are scrabbling to do nothing about the problems of environment degradation and poverty.

Welcome to the beanfeast ... doorman will greet guests arriving for summit

"They are living it up while not taking action for the millions around the world who will die because of inaction.

"The people of Alexandra would be gobsmacked if they could see how people live in such opulence on their doorstep.

"How can delegates sleep soundly in their beds knowing such suffering is just down the road?"

He added: “We have been working closely with communities in places like Alexandra to help them get a voice.

“But delegates from rich countries just don’t want to listen to the poor in society.”

Friends of the Earth have sent a ten-strong delegation to Johannesburg to have their say. They flew out economy class and are sleeping on the floor of a school.

Tory MP Sir Teddy Taylor dismissed the summit as “absurd”.

He said: “The whole thing makes me feel sick. When you think about the starving people in the world and then see this sort of lavish display it just isn’t right.

Expensive ... we're paying for brandy, lobster, caviar and champagne

“I’m sure nothing will be achieved at the meeting except for photo opportunities allowing politicians to say how great they are.”

The criticism was brushed off by Downing Street last night.
A spokesman said: “I don’t think we will be going into these aspects of the summit.”

A spokesman for the Department of Environment said: "This is not a jolly, it is a very serious conference.

“Delegates will not be living it up. And it is their duty to be conscious of costs.”

US President George Bush is NOT attending Johannesburg, even though he is the leader of the world’s biggest polluter.

The American delegation is being headed instead by Secretary of State Colin Powell.

The summit will discuss how an increasing population can boost and spread wealth without destroying the environment.

But climate change is not directly on the agenda. Former top UN climate scientist Robert Watson yesterday claimed it was left off because of pressure from the US.

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