The head of Christian Aid has told government representatives at the Davos World Economic Forum to respect human dignity.

Loretta Minghella added her voice to calls for economic reform before the five-day meeting wound up in Switzerland today.

“Our economic models need to be built around the unique beauty of every person, the inherent dignity of every person, the infinite worth of every person,” she said.

There was little to cheer about for Europe’s leaders after they were told by top bankers, policy makers and academics to get a grip on the eurozone crisis.

Minghella, chief executive of the financial services compensation scheme during the bank failures of 2008, was invited to speak at Davos as part of the faith community.

Earlier in the month, she called for a new economic model underpinned by a value system in which growth and financial prosperity do not come at the expense of the poor.

Delivering the the Chaplaincy Lecture at Alleyn’s School in London, she said: “It appears that the World Economic Forum is realising that we need new economic models based on sound values in order to make them sustainable.

“That gives me some grounds for hope and a strong basis to challenge propositions which do not put equal value on all people.”