O'Donnell inquiry clears Liam Fox of financial gain but severely criticises association with Werritty, which included Pentagon visit
The former defence secretary Liam Fox will be found on Tuesday to have breached the ministerial code in what is expected to be a brief but damning report into his improper links with his close friend and adviser Adam Werritty.
But the report will not find that Fox benefited financially from Werritty's actions.
Fox resigned on Friday, knowing the impending report from the cabinet secretary, Sir Gus O'Donnell, and revelations about Werritty's funding made it impossible for him to cling to office.
The funding was arranged by Fox and some of the donors have expressed anger at the way in which the money was used. The report prepared by O'Donnell and handed to David Cameron on Monday, will be published on Tuesday morning.
It is intended to be a bare statement of facts and will not offer any policy recommendations, such as further revisions to the ministerial code.
It is likely to question whether Fox did enough to distance himself from Werritty after he was warned by the permanent secretary, Ursula Brennan, that it was wrong for Werritty to distribute business cards claiming to be an adviser to Fox.
The document may also suggest it was wrong to have allowed Werritty to be presented as a government official at some events the two attended.
The fact that the report finds Fox did not gain financially from his promotion of Werritty will come as a relief to the former minister and make it more likely he can return to government.
But the report will not touch on whether Fox misled any donors as to why they were to fund Werritty, and whether the lobbyist's jet-set lifestyle was endorsed by the donors.
Werritty is still subject to a separate police inquiry. Ministers were still pondering whether to make an oral Commons statement on the issue, but know they are likely to be forced to make a statement by the Speaker if they fail to volunteer one.
It is expected that Fox will make a personal statement expressing his regret at the way in which he remained too close to Werritty in office.Werritty met Fox more than 20 times in the Ministry of Defence and accompanied him abroad on 18 occasions, predominantly to attend social events.
No 10 stressed it would press ahead with a statutory code for lobbyists in the next parliamentary session, but privately ministers feel the connection between Fox's behaviour and the need for a lobbyist register is tenuous.
Ministers have refused to set out the terms of reference of the O'Donnell inquiry, simply saying it is to examine all the issues the public want answered.
But in advance of publication, Labour was claiming the report would ignore many of the questions the public expect to be answered, including the sources of Werritty's funding. The shadow defence secretary, Jim Murphy, said: "Now it seems all we are being offered is a selective internal report.
"David Cameron must provide full transparency over all of Liam Fox and Adam Werritty's activities.
"We need to know the full extent of Dr Fox's use of Adam Werritty as an 'unofficial adviser', how Mr Werritty was funded, and all his links and meetings with government.
"Unless this report examines what all ministers knew and when, including the prime minister; the activities of Atlantic Bridge and all Mr Werritty's organisations; all overseas visits Mr Werritty was part of; and the legality of donations Dr Fox was part of soliciting, it will be deemed inadequate. People must be able to judge for themselves how this has been allowed to happen on David Cameron's watch." Labour is also to ask Sir Philip Mawer, the official adviser on ministerial interests, whether he is happy about his exclusion from the controversy.
The Pentagon confirmed that Fox introduced Werritty to Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, during a meeting there in March 2010, just before the general election. The meeting was described as a "courtesy call".
In July 2010 Werritty and Fox had dinner with the US general now commanding the war in Afghanistan.
The pair met General John Allen, who was deputy commander of US Central Command and now leads the International Security Assistance Force, in Tampa, Florida.
Werritty and Fox went back to Tampa, the HQ of CentCom, which runs US operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, in May this year. The MoD refused to describe the nature of the "official meetings" Fox held.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/oct/17/fox-breached-ministerial-code
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