Elton John has expressed disbelief at anti-AIDS policies around the world.

Speaking at the AIDS Foundation gala at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York earlier in the week, Elton said he’s angry over the Bush administration’s decision to promote abstinence over safe sex in the US.

He told the New York Daily News: “They’ve made a grave error in giving millions to abstinence programs. They don’t work. They were told in the beginning that it wouldn’t work. It’s a tragic waste of money. Please don’t listen to those idiots. God almighty.”

He added that South African president Thabo Mbeki should be “ashamed” of supporting his health minister’s belief that a healthy diet, containing plenty of garlic, beetroot, lemon and olive oil, is better at treating the disease than antiretroviral medication: “There are some weird people in the world - what can I say? I would just tell them, ‘Don’t let the AIDS crisis get lost.’”

Speaking at the celebrity studded dinner, Elton also had harsh words to say about the first course, mozzarella balls in a Parmesan tostada: “It’s being sent to the Food and Drug Administration to find out what it was.”

“It qualifies as the worst food I’ve ever seen at an event like this. My sincere apologies.”