Singapore bowed to international pressure on Friday and agreed to allow 22 of 27 banned activists to attend the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund/World Bank, after Paul Wolfowitz, World Bank president, said the bar on their entry was “unacceptable”.

The move was meant to deflect mounting controversy that had threatened to become a public relations disaster for Singapore as it hosted its biggest-ever conference. But its refusal to admit five activists could keep the issue alive.