Fox’s best man met ambassador in another unreported meeting

FORMER defence secretary Liam Fox’s self-styled adviser Adam Werritty was at a previously unreported private social engagement with Britain’s ambassador to Israel and Dr Fox, it has emerged.

Dr Fox’s close links with his best man Mr Werritty led to his resignation earlier this month.

A report by cabinet secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell outlined Dr Fox and Mr Werritty’s contacts with military chiefs and political leaders across the world.

Last night, Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt disclosed Mr Werritty also met the British ambassador to Israel last year with Tory MP Dr Fox.

Mr Burt told MPs: “All meetings which our ambassador to Israel has had with the former secretary of state for defence since May 2010 are set out in the cabinet secretary’s report of October 18, 2011. Our ambassador to Israel was also invited by the former defence secretary to a private social engagement in summer 2010, at which Adam Werritty was present.”

It is unclear whether the ambassador at the time was Tom Phillips or current ambassador Matthew Gould, or where the meeting took place.

Mr Burt was answering a written parliamentary question from Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn.

Dr Fox said yesterday that he hopes to return to government office.

In an interview with BBC Radio Bristol, he said he would still like to get back to frontline politics.

“I would certainly like to get back to the front bench – how quickly is another matter,” he said.

“I think for the moment I will enjoy having a little bit of extra time. There are one or two projects that I want to get involved in on the charitable side and to devote some time to that.”

Dr Fox acknowledged that his relationship with Mr Werritty – whom he met 40 times in the Ministry of Defence and on trips abroad – had contravened Whitehall rules.

He said: “I should have kept a better separation there – with hindsight, it seems easy.”