Fox: video shows Werritty did meet foreign dignitary

DEFENCE SECRETARY, Dr Liam Fox, is under intense pressure after a video surfaced which suggests he improperly allowed a close friend to meet foreign dignitaries with him, despite a claim to the contrary.

Fox has denied that he gave his friend Adam Werritty – a former flatmate who was best man at his wedding – access to MoD official meetings or that he let Werritty set up a meeting between Fox and a businessman in Dubai.

However, today The Observer publishes stills from video footage it has obtained which it claims shows Werritty meeting the president of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, with Fox at a London hotel last year.

The newspaper also says it has obtained emails sent between Werritty and Bristol-educated businessman Harvey Boulter which prove that the Dubai meeting was pre-planned well in advance. Yesterday, Fox claimed it was a "chance" encounter.

The MoD is already holding an inquiry into Werritty's role and in a sign that its support of Fox may be wavering, No 10 yesterday ordered Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell to speed up the process and get an interim report David Cameron on Monday.

Based on this, a decision will be taken as to& whether Fox breached the ministerial code or compromised national security by giving Werritty special access to the MoD.

Fox has a reputation as a maverick, a hater of health and safety culture who might perhaps be expected to have little interest in the formalities around using a friend as an adviser.

The Mail on Sunday reveals that the two men have been friends, despite a 17-year age gap, since they met when Werritty was a student at Edinburgh University.

They have even enjoyed karaoke nights together. Fox apparently uses the pseudonym Barry from Bournemouth for singing contests. ·