Jack Straw is set to pile the pressure on Zimbabwe with action including the freezing of Robert Mugabe's assets, a travel ban and suspension from the Commonwealth.

In an interview with the Guardian, the foreign secretary argues that now is the time to put "Mugabe on the spot" to halt human rights abuses in the run up to the country's presidential elections.

The UK will be pushing for tough sanctions against Zimbabwe at an EU meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels today.