Defiant UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has refused to resign in the wake of a critical report on Iraq's oil-for-food scandal.
He admitted he felt "great relief" after being exonerated of corruption but accepted criticism for not properly investigating a lucrative contract awarded to his son's employer.
Asked whether, in the wake of the report, he thought he should step down for the good of the organisation, the embattled Secretary General replied: "Hell, no."
The 144-page report, released by a UN inquiry committee, severely criticised Mr Annan for failing to determine the exact nature of Kojo Annan's work with Swiss firm, Cotecna.
Mr Kojo Annan worked for the company in West Africa from 1995 to 1997, and was employed as a consultant until the end of 1998 - when it won the oil-for-food contract. Although he was not accused of corruption, the report was by no means a clear vindication of Annan's involvement in the scandal.
It raised questions about when he learned about the December 1998 contract and condemned the destruction of vital documents by his former chief of staff that could have shed light on the oil-for-food scandal.
Paul Volcker, the former US Federal Reserve chairman who led the probe, described Annan's own one-day inquiry into the controversial Cotecna contract as "inadequate."
The report accused Mr Kojo Annan of concealing information about his dealings with Cotecna and for deceiving his father.
Mr Annan said he was "deeply saddened" by the evidence, and particularly by the fact that his son had failed to cooperate fully with the inquiry. "I have urged him to cooperate and reconsider his position," he said.
He spoke after Volcker revealed the investigation had uncovered evidence suggesting Mr Annan may well have known about the controversial contract. "Our investigation has disclosed several instances in which he might, or could have become aware, of Cotecna's participation in the bidding process," he said.
"However, there is neither convincing testimony to that effect nor any documentary evidence."
The report stated that documents which could have proved vital to the investigation, were destroyed the day after they were requested.
A White House spokesman later acknowledged it was a "very serious matter" and that Congress was investigating.
Mr Annan said he fully intended to correct failings the inquiry had brought to light and had already begun acting on its interim findings.
But the report is unlikely to pacify congressmen who have called for his resignation.