Senior United Nations officials are ignoring the scathing reports into their handling of the corruption-ridden Iraqi oil-for-food programme, according to John Bolton, the outspoken American ambassador to the UN. He accused them of living in a "bubble" as they disregard the damning findings of the Volcker commission established by Kofi Annan, the secretary general. The inquiry criticised the UN and Mr Annan for their failings in running a scheme from which Saddam Hussein skimmed off an estimated $2 billion (£1.2 billion).At a private dinner attended by the Sunday Telegraph in New York last week, Mr Bolton gave guests a hard-hitting critique of life at the UN. "In the bubble on First Avenue, Volcker is just ignored. I talk about it, but it's a solitary conversation. Nobody else will be fired unless people are indicted by outside authorities. Corruption didn't arise out of thin air, it arose out of the culture of the place. Bribes, mismanagement etc - it would be unacceptable for executives in any normal organisation."