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| Dr. Fox (l) during his visit to Sri Lanka in July. Mr. Werritty is at the back (circled). |
The political storm around the working relationship between British Defence Secretary Liam Fox and close friend Mr. Adam Werritty continues to rage through the weekend.
It took a turn when Premier David Cameron said to have demanded a report by an investigation being conducted by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) ‘first thing’ on Monday, reports said.
The issue is receiving widespread attention in the British media.
The Observer newspaper released photos of a meeting between the duo and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in July this year, and video of them meeting him in London last December. (See here).
Meanwhile, the Independent on Sunday has learnt that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) investigation will focus on business deals secured by Mr Werritty, amid concerns that the department would be embarrassed if the consultant has been working for clients deemed "undesirable" by the international community.
"This man (Werritty) appears to have been involved in arms contracts all over the place …If he has been involved with less favourable regimes, even if they are perfectly legal, it would be hugely embarrassing for the minister."
- a senior MoD official to The Independent on Sunday.
“If we were having a (cabinet) reshuffle, we would get rid of him (Fox).”
- a senior Downing Street source to The Independent on Sunday.
“This issue has gone from being embarrassing to being controversial and has now moved way beyond that. This will cause alarm bells to start ringing even more loudly in Downing Street.”
- Shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy to the BBC.
