Ukraine crisis brings questions over human rights in countries such as Azerbaijan, Algeria and Qatar to the fore
George Osborne and Boris Johnson were lined up to speak, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) was to provide the venue and the Royal Philarmonic Orchestra the evening entertainment.
A plush red carpet was rolled out by the British establishment last month but not for senior politicians or business leaders from China, the US or some other trading superpower. This was for Azerbaijan, a country of fewer than 10 million people, whose autocratic leader, Ilham Aliyev, has been accused by Amnesty International of overseeing an appalling human rights record.