Published: October 10th 2011 - at 8:40 am

Liam Fox paid his mate out of taxpayers’ money


by Sunny Hundal    

The Telegraph today has this revelation:

Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, put a close friend with “defence-related business interests” on the public payroll, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

Adam Werritty, whose relationship with Dr Fox threatens the minister’s career, was paid with taxpayers’ money as a parliamentary researcher.

This newspaper has also learnt that Mr Werritty, who holds no official government role, acted as Dr Fox’s personal envoy to Sri Lanka, arranging his meetings with senior ministers.

They also show clips from this video below that shows Fox and Werritty meeting with the Sri Lankan Prime Minister (10 secs in)

Let me get this straight – our defence minister is travelling around the world and meeting heads of state with a friend who has no security clearance and no clear reason for being there.

And no one thought to raise this as an issue earlier?

In his statement yesterday, Liam Fox did not reference his meeting with the Sri Lankan president, which took place last December at the Dorchester hotel in London.


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About the author
Sunny Hundal is editor of LC. Also: on Twitter, at Pickled Politics and Guardian CIF.
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Reader comments


1. steve

If this is the case will the constituents that Fox represents be able to recall him and call for a by-election because of his wrong doing, or isn’t this rule in yet?

2. ukliberty

Today’s Times has a few pages on this as well. It doesn’t look good!

(And not just that Fox met with the Sri Lankan PM, with Werrity in tow, but that he did this despite our PM and FS turning down invitations to visit Sri Lanka; he’s accused of undermining the Cabinet and the Foreign Office.)

3. Cherub

Werrity’s “charity” Atlantic Bridge look pretty dodgy too. They were would up a month ago by the Charities Commission. http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/85531,news-comment,news-politics,liam-fox-adam-werritty-the-atlantic-bridge-mystery

4. Cherub

“Wound” sorry.

5. Sally

The military industrial complex never stops providing welfare for right wing hypocrites.
And what is it with tory male ministers and their strange male mates that they take around with them? First Hague now this grubby little git. These people just love the welfare state as long as they and their friends are the ones sucking at the teat of govt.

6. Charlieman

@5. Sally
Borrowing words from Pagar on another thread about Liam Fox (http://liberalconspiracy.org/2011/10/10/liam-fox-torn/):

“It would seem there is more than a whiff of homophobia surrounding the hounds pursuing this particular Fox…”

7. Sally

So the brownshirts are going to play the gay card? How typical of the hypocites.

Fox makes much of his religious moral clap trap, no surprise to see he thinks morals are for the little people and not him. It is ingrained in the American right wing,which Fox is so in love with.

8. Cylux

Borrowing words from Pagar on another thread about Liam Fox (http://liberalconspiracy.org/2011/10/10/liam-fox-torn/):

“It would seem there is more than a whiff of homophobia surrounding the hounds pursuing this particular Fox…”

He’s married to a woman ain’t he? Though if he were far enough in the closet to be visiting Narnia it would explain his absence here:-
http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/division.php?date=2003-03-10&number=109&mpn=Liam_Fox&mpc=Woodspring&house=commons

9. So Much For Subtlety

Let me get this straight – our defence minister is travelling around the world and meeting heads of state with a friend who has no security clearance and no clear reason for being there.

Surely the scandal is that he did have a clear reason for being there – the friend has “defense-related business interests”?

10. Dave

@7 – Playing the gay card? You are certainly are an unpleasent little girl.

11. MyBikeCodes

What is it about ministers these days not being able to come out of the closet? Are things really that bad? I wish they would come out and make it more acceptable, especially for 16 year old lads struggling at school and afraid to admit publicly that they, likewise, are Tory…


Reactions: Twitter, blogs
  1. Liberal Conspiracy

    Liam Fox paid his mate out of taxpayers' money http://t.co/hDGr7KLr

  2. eleanor

    Liam Fox paid his mate out of taxpayers' money http://t.co/hDGr7KLr

  3. sunny hundal

    Liam Fox meets heads of state with a mate with no clearance & no reason to be there… Why wasn't this raised earlier? http://t.co/DeAvOv6h

  4. Chantelle West

    Liam Fox paid his mate out of taxpayers' money http://t.co/hDGr7KLr

  5. Chris Butler

    RT @libcon: Liam Fox paid his mate out of taxpayers' money http://t.co/AfI9Ak7h < don't WORRY HE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG.

  6. Jeevan Rai

    Liam Fox paid his mate out of taxpayers' money http://t.co/hDGr7KLr

  7. Vijay Singh Riyait

    Liam Fox paid his mate out of taxpayers' money http://t.co/hDGr7KLr

  8. Andy S

    Liam Fox paid his mate out of taxpayers' money http://t.co/6fvgRt2Y (via @libcon) What say you to that @GregHands ?

  9. malcolm

    Liam Fox paid his mate out of taxpayers' money http://t.co/hDGr7KLr

  10. malcolm

    Liam Fox meets heads of state with a mate with no clearance & no reason to be there… Why wasn't this raised earlier? http://t.co/DeAvOv6h

  11. glencoehiker

    Liam Fox paid his mate out of taxpayers' money http://t.co/hDGr7KLr

  12. ZA Annon

    Liam Fox meets heads of state with a mate with no clearance & no reason to be there… Why wasn't this raised earlier? http://t.co/DeAvOv6h

  13. Martin Baker

    Liam Fox paid his mate out of taxpayers' money http://t.co/hDGr7KLr

  14. Pauline

    Liam Fox paid his mate out of taxpayers' money http://t.co/hDGr7KLr

  15. Alex Braithwaite

    Liam Fox paid his mate out of taxpayers’ money | Liberal Conspiracy http://t.co/pm3SliCl via @libcon

  16. » Liam Fox News & Trends

    [...] Relevant Links Revealed: how lobbyists were paid to facilitate meeting with Liam Fox | Politics | The Guardian The case for Liam Fox’s resignation – Telegraph BlogsCrunch time for Fox | The Spectatorhttp://7.snsanalytics.com/3pbcy6Liam Fox and Adam Werritty in Dubai: Harvey Boulter ‘was told to deny meeting’ – Daily Mail | Local Dubai NewsNew Statesman – Morning Call: pick of the papersBBC News – Report on Liam Fox's conduct to go to David CameronLiam Fox paid his mate out of taxpayers’ money | Liberal Conspiracy [...]

  17. Nicola Chan

    Liam Fox paid his mate out of taxpayers' money http://t.co/hDGr7KLr





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