Greek debt 'illegal, illegitimate and odious'

A committee convened by the Greek parliament has claimed much of the country's debt of 320bn euros was illegally contracted and should not be paid.

Following an official parliamentary investigation, speaker Zoe Konstantopoulou described the debt as illegal, illegitimate and odious.

She told the BBC that Greek people "should fight for justice".

Opposition parties have criticised the move saying it was a political tactic by the cash strapped government.

However the evidence marshalled by he debt truth committee could be used in a potential court case by the Greek government, should it seek a legal route out of its massive debts.

The concept of odious debt is established in international law where dictatorships or illegitimate governments have borrowed money and later been succeeded by democratic regimes.