Fox defiant as ‘wild gossip’ grips Westminster

At Westminster, the focus was increasingly turning to the links between Dr Fox’s political duties and his private life, which one fellow minister admitted was the subject of “wild gossip” among MPs.

The Defence Secretary was forced to deny he was responsible for wrongly briefing journalists that he was alone in his London flat when it was burgled last year while his wife, Jesme, was out of the country.

Reports yesterday were disclosed that an unnamed “younger man” was staying with him when thieves broke into the apartment during the general election campaign and stole a laptop computer, a mobile phone and the keys to his Skoda car.

In a statement, Dr Fox said he had given the full facts to police at the time and was “appalled at being portrayed as having something to hide”. He added, “for the sake of clarity”, that the guest was not Mr Werritty, a former flatmate.

An investigation into the media briefing about the burglary found that the information that Dr Fox had been alone “was released in good faith and that it was the result of a genuine misunderstanding”, a Conservative Party spokesman later said.

In the Commons, Dr Fox received support from David Cameron who said he was doing an “excellent job” at the Ministry of Defence.

However, the Prime Minister also made clear that in the end he would decide whether Dr Fox should keep his job once the Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell had completed his inquiry into his links with Mr Werritty.

“I ask people to have a little patience and wait for the facts to be established,” he told MPs at Prime Minister’s Questions.

Mr Cameron found himself being drawn into the controversy after it was disclosed that one of his most senior political advisers, Gabby Bertin, had previously worked for Dr Fox’s controversial Atlantic Bridge charity.

The organisation – which Mr Werritty also later worked for – was dissolved earlier this year after the Charity Commission said its main objective appeared to be promoting a policy “closely associated with the Conservative Party”.

Under pressure from Labour MPs, Mr Cameron said he would be “very happy” to consider publishing a list of all ministers and No 10 staffers who had met Mr Werritty, either officially or socially, since the government came to office.

However, No 10 said only that the matter was being “looked at”.

A key issue for the inquiry is how Mr Werritty was able to fund his overseas travel, which has seen him join Dr Fox on 18 foreign trips since the government came to office last year.

The 33-year-old – who was interviewed on Wednesday by a senior official – appears to have presented himself as an adviser to Dr Fox, even though he had no official role.

As he left for talks in Paris with his French counterpart, the Defence Secretary made clear that he had no intention of resigning in the face of the continuing controversy.

“I shall carry on doing the job that I am meant to do, the job that I am paid for,” he said.

Meanwhile, employment minister Chris Grayling acknowledged that gossip about Dr Fox was rife, although he said he had heard nothing which called into question his ability to do his job.

Asked about rumours the Defence Secretary is gay, Mr Grayling said: “If you look around the Westminster village you will find all kinds of wild gossip about all kinds of individuals in all parties. That doesn’t mean they are not good at their jobs.

“I’ve known Liam for many years, I’ve known Liam and his wife, they’ve always struck me as being a very happily married couple. The reality is that the gossip is certainly circulating.

“I thought we had got past the point in politics though where we needed to worry about people’s private lives.”