The war crimes trial of Charles Taylor began dramatically on Monday as lawyers for the former Liberian president announced he was boycotting the opening because it was a “charade”.

Karim Khan, defence lawyer, read a letter from the ex-president who said he would not be “a figleaf of legitimacy” for the court, claiming a lack of resources meant he only had one counsel, compared with a nine-strong prosecution team, and could not be sure of a fair trial. He added that he had ”terminated instructions to my legal representatives”.