British Prime Minister David Cameron has been caught on camera telling Queen Elizabeth II that Afghanistan and Nigeria are “fantastically corrupt” countries. The Conservatives leader also called the two nations “possibly two of the most corrupt countries in the world” ahead of the anti-corruption summit in London this week.

A clip was released on Tuesday of Cameron informing the Queen in an upbeat, almost boasting tone the countries that are attending the summit he is set to host on Thursday. The conversation took place at an event marking the Queen’s 90th birthday the Buckingham Palace.

“We had a very successful cabinet meeting this morning to talk about our anti-corruption summit. The Nigerians, actually we’ve got the leaders of some fantastically corrupt countries coming to Britain. Nigeria and Afghanistan, possibly two of the most corrupt countries in the world,” the PM told the Queen in the clip (obtained by ITV News).

Queen Elizabeth kept a neutral face, not responding to Cameron’s comment.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who was standing with the group, then chimed in, “But this particular president is actually not corrupt … he’s trying very hard.” He was referring to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, and not to Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani.

Nigeria’s reaction

President Buhari wasn’t pleased with Cameron’s assessment of the country, saying the British leader “must be looking at an old snapshot of Nigeria. Things are changing with corruption and everything else.”

In a statement sent to Premium Times by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Garba Shehu, the president said that the incident was “embarrassing to us, given the good work that the president is doing.” The statement continued, “The eyes of the world are on what is happening here.”

As for Welby’s defence of Buhari, the Nigerian leader said, “Thank you to the Archbishop. We have great admiration for the good relationship between our countries.”

Nigeria and Afghanistan’s corruption index standing

In the Corruption Perceptions Index 2015 by Transparency International, Nigeria ranked 136, somewhere in the lower half of the list. Afghanistan fared a lot worse, though, ranking at 166, ahead only of North Korea and Somalia, which were tied at the lowest rank of 167.

In comparison, the United Kingdom tied with Germany and Luxembourg at #10, while Australia is a step behind at #13 with Iceland. Denmark, Finland, Sweden, New Zealand and the Netherlands make the top 5.

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