Liam Fox was joined by former flatmate on official visit to Sri Lanka

Defence secretary joined by Adam Werrity despite claiming he had never accompanied him on government business Liam Fox was joined by a close personal friend and self-styled adviser when he met senior Sri Lankan ministers during an official visit this summer despite claiming that Adam Werritty had never accompanied him on government business. Fox has insisted that Werritty, who has distributed business cards describing himself as an adviser to the defence secretary, is not part of his political entourage, but these fresh disclosures are likely to raise further questions about the nature of his role in the defence secretary’s inner circle. The Guardian has already revealed that Werritty, who was Fox’s best man, visited the defence secretary on 14 occasions in little over a year at the MoD’s HQ in Whitehall, prompting Labour to demand an inquiry into whether there had been any potential breaches of national security. Fox said he had now asked his permanent secretary to investigate what he called “baseless allegations”. The defence secretary was under pressure to explain his involvement with Werritty after it emerged he had brokered a meeting in Dubai in June that may lead to Fox being called to give evidence in a blackmail trial in the US. Despite the furore over that episode, Fox met Werritty again in Sri Lanka a month later when the defence secretary was on an official visit to give a lecture. Though the MoD insists Werritty was not part of Fox’s party, it confirmed that Werritty did meet Fox during the visit. A photograph of Fox arriving to give the address on 9 July shows Werritty in the background, following closely behind Sri Lankan government ministers and the British high commissioner, John Rankin. During the visit, which enraged the Tamil community – who accuse the Sri Lankan government of war crimes – Fox also met President Mahinda Rajapaksa, foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama and economic development minister Basil Rajapaksa. A video of Fox meeting the president appears to show Werritty also present. Two associates of Werritty have identified him in the grainy video. However, the MoD has denied that Werritty was there and insisted he did not accompany Fox during any official meetings. Werritty, who hands out business cards embossed with a House of Commons portcullis logo that describe him as an “adviser to Rt Hon Dr Fox MP”, has visited Fox at the MoD headquarters in Whitehall 14 times in 16 months. After details emerged of Werritty’s links with Fox dating back 14 years he said in a parliamentary answer earlier this year: “Mr Werritty is not an employee of the MoD and has, therefore, not travelled with me on any official overseas visits. ” Fox’s spokesman added: “He is a friend of the secretary of state.” However, the MoD backtracked last night. It said: “Adam Werritty was not part of Dr Fox’s delegation and he did not attend any official meetings though he was present at the memorial lecture [in Sri Lanka], which was a public event at which the defence secretary spoke.” The Guardian has been told Fox met Werritty “for a quick drink” after the lecture, which was to honour the late Sri Lankan politician Lakshman Kadirgamar. “Adam Werritty was not there in any official capacity,” an official said. “The trip to Sri Lanka was sanctioned by the Foreign Office. Werritty was not part of the official delegation. Dr Fox has a long-standing interest in Sri Lanka going back to the 1990s when he helped to broker a peace accord.” The revelation of the meeting will increase the pressure on Fox, 50, who has been accused of putting national security at risk by offering Werritty regular access to his office. Questions have also been raised about whether Werritty has sought to profit financially from the relationship. Werritty ran a defence company while Fox was shadow defence secretary, and he was involved in a health company while Fox was shadow health secretary. Werritty, 34, has accompanied Fox on several trips to Sri Lanka, including one in 2009 when the pair reportedly met the president, prime minister and foreign minister. He lived with Fox in a flat near Tower Bridge before the defence secretary married Jesme Baird in 2005. Werritty was a guest at Fox’s 50th birthday party at his official Whitehall residence last month. Last night Fox launched an investigation to clear his name. In a statement, he said: “A number of baseless accusations have been made in recent days. For the sake of clarity I have asked my permanent secretary to establish whether there has been any breach of national security or the ministerial code. She will report back in due course.” Jim Murphy, the shadow defence secretary, said: “This gets murkier and murkier. People will be shocked Liam Fox is unable to provide straight answers to straight questions. We have previously raised serious concerns about his insistence on visiting a Sri Lankan government failing to produce an independent and transparent investigation into allegations of war crimes. We need a full explanation for his visit as well as clarification of the role of Adam Werritty. Mr Werritty’s role is unclear and is now becoming a real concern. We need to know precisely why he was on the visit, why this was denied and especially if he benefitted personally or professionally from the visit.” Fox was initially scheduled to visit Sri Lanka last December but was forced to abandon his plans following a row with the foreign secretary, William Hague, who feared the speech would upset Britain’s carefully balanced relations with Colombo. Fox rescheduled the visit for July despite leaked US embassy cables providing fresh allegations of the Sri Lankan government’s complicity with paramilitary groups in its offensive against the Tamil Tigers. Liam Fox Defence policy Rupert Neate Nick Hopkins guardian.co.uk

Posted by on October 6, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.