UN declaration on fighting Aids is not being straight about the problem, says International Development Secretary Hilary Benn.

Mr Benn said there was no place for people to be "squeamish" about the realities of the issue.

He said the statement was wrong to avoid referring directly to prostitutes, gay men and drug users as people more at risk, instead referring to them as "vulnerable groups".

He also criticised the focus on sexual abstinence as a tool for fighting the spread of Aids.

People liked sex and should not die because they chose to have it, Mr Benn added.

Aid agencies have also attacked the declaration, branding it "weak".

The declaration, which was only agreed after a late-night deadlock, says 23 billion dollars (£12 billion) a year will be needed to fight the epidemic by 2010.

Aditi Sharma, ActionAid International's HIV/Aids co-ordinator, said the organisation was "furious" about the content of the declaration.

"Vulnerable groups such as intravenous drug users, sex workers and men who have sex with men have been made invisible in this document," she said.

Ms Sharma added: "It is incomprehensible how negotiators could come up with such a weak declaration when we needed urgent action to stop 8,500 people dying and 13,500 people from becoming infected every day."

The use of the term "vulnerable groups" rather than a direct reference to people like sex workers, came after protests from African and Arab nations.

International funding for Aids currently stands at $8.3 billion (£4.4 million) a year.