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The former Greek finance minster has said his country's economic reforms are "going to fail", just as formal talks on a huge bailout are set to begin. In a BBC interview, Yanis Varoufakis said Greece was subject to a programme that will "go down in history as the greatest disaster of macroeconomic management ever".

The German parliament approved the opening of negotiations on Friday. The bailout could total €86bn (£60bn) in exchange for austerity measures.

In a damning assessment, Mr Varoufakis said: "This programme is going to fail whoever undertakes its implementation."
Asked how long that would take, he replied: "It has failed already."

Mr Varoufakis resigned earlier this month, in what was widely seen as a conciliatory gesture towards the eurozone finance ministers he had frequently clashed with.

He said Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who has admitted that he does not believe in the bailout, had little option but to sign.
"We were given a choice between being executed and capitulating. And he decided that capitulation was the ultimate strategy."