Liam Fox orders inquiry into allegations over former flatmate’s role

Defence secretary asks senior official to look into ‘wild allegations’ that he risked national security over role of his friend The defence secretary, Liam Fox, has ordered an investigation into claims surrounding the role of a controversial friend and adviser . Fox has asked his most senior official, the permanent secretary Ursula Brennan, to look into what he describes as “wild allegations” concerning Adam Werritty. But he has admitted it was “unacceptable” that Werritty was issuing business cards that identified him as a “personal adviser” to Fox. The defence secretary said he understood the business cards were no longer being used. In recent days Fox has been accused of putting national security at risk by allowing Werritty – a former flatmate who was best man at his wedding – access to the Ministry of Defence , even though he is not employed by the government. It has been reported Werritty joined the defence secretary on an official visit to Sri Lanka, despite Fox having previously said Werritty did not travel with him on official visits overseas. The defence secretary said on Friday he did attend a “private event” with his friend on the island after a picture of the pair was published in the Guardian . He told BBC News: “It was organised by Adam Werritty and Mrs [Suganthie Wijayasuriya] Kadirgamar, who’s the widow of the assassinated Tamil former foreign secretary of Sri Lanka. “I have had a long relationship in Sri Lanka, trying to get co-ordination of peace efforts there. That’s a perfectly reasonable thing to do. “Because there have been some allegations of security leaks and so on, I’ve asked the permanent secretary to look into that for me.” He added: “I’ve asked the permanent secretary to look into any of these wild allegations, and I’m very happy to stand by that investigation.” Werritty has been a controversial figure in Whitehall. Despite having no official role he is reported to hand out business cards with a portcullis logo describing himself as “adviser to Rt Hon Liam Fox MP”. Fox said: “I understand those cards are no longer used. I have made it very clear to him that it’s unacceptable to carry a card saying that he is a personal adviser.” Labour MPs have questioned Werritty’s access to the MoD after it was disclosed in parliamentary answers that he had visited Fox there 14 times in the space of 16 months. Jim Murphy, the shadow defence secretary, said it was right that an investigation had been launched. He added: “This seems like a panic measure. The secretary of state has ordered an inquiry into himself in order to prevent his top civil servant from forcing one upon him. There are events only he knows about and it would be easier if he just answered questions directly …There is evidence which appears to contradict Liam Fox’s statements. “Mr Werritty is not an MoD employee and yet he is reportedly arranging meetings for the secretary of state without officials present. He is accompanying the secretary of state during official visits. He is a regular visitor to Liam Fox’s office and he is playing an undefined role in an ongoing legal case involving the MoD. It is extraordinary that Liam Fox is unable to tell us what is going on. “We need to understand why Mr Werritty enjoys the access he does, which MoD issues he has been involved in and we need to be certain no commercial gain has arisen from his association from Mr Fox. “There is too much unnecessary uncertainty and the public should not be kept in the dark.” An MoD spokesman said: “Mr Werritty’s meetings with the secretary of state at the MoD have concerned entirely private matters, not to discuss MoD business. At no time has he had access to any classified MoD documents or information.” Liam Fox Ministry of Defence guardian.co.uk

Posted by on October 7, 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.