Hunger threatens Lebanon if leaders don't act, UK minister warns

FILE PHOTO: Britain's Conservative Party Chairman James Cleverly arrives at Downing Street in London, Britain February 11, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon is on the verge of not being able to feed itself, a British minister warned on Thursday, as the country's financial crisis hikes poverty and inflation.

James Cleverly, the Foreign Office minister for the Middle East, called it "a man-made problem which could have been prevented", joining a chorus of voices who have blamed Lebanon's ruling elite for failing to chart a path out of the crisis.