Rushing verdict on Fox will show me to be a weak leader, claims Cameron

David Cameron has said he would be displaying “weak leadership” if he rushed an inquiry into the most senior Scot in the Cabinet, as questions continued to be asked about Defence Secretary Liam Fox’s conduct.

The comments by the Prime Minister during a visit to Aberdeen yesterday came as Glasgow Central Labour MP Anas Sarwar asked the Electoral Commission to look into whether wealthy backers of Dr Fox had effectively funded his friend, Adam Werritty, as an unofficial adviser.

With speculation that the findings of an inquiry into Dr Fox and his relationship with Mr Werritty headed by Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell could land on Mr Cameron’s desk this weekend, Labour leader Ed Miliband complained about “delay and indecision” in getting to the truth.

The inquiry centres on the number of trips the Defence Secretary took accompanied by Mr Werritty, who was a defence consultant and before that Dr Fox’s flat-mate and best man.

According to Ministry of Defence diaries, Mr Werritty has spent 104 days with Dr Fox on business since he took office, accompanying him on 18 of his 48 trips abroad and visiting his Whitehall office 22 times. Mr Werritty was also handing out business cards until the summer claiming to be a Fox adviser.

The allegations have surfaced because of claims made by an American businessman, Harvey Boulter, of Cellcrypt, who believed that Mr Werritty had arranged a meeting between him and the minister in Dubai and said he understood Mr Werrity worked for Dr Fox.

Mr Cameron yesterday insisted that patience was needed over the investigation into his beleaguered minister. “A strong leader actually recognises you have to take time to get all the information, answer all the questions and then actually make a decision,” he said.

“A weak leader is someone who jumps at it because of some artificial deadline. Let’s get the facts established, and then we’ll make a decision.”

Mr Cameron said it was right to wait for Sir Gus O’Donnell to complete his inquiry into the allegations, which is expected early next week after Mr Werritty has been interviewed for a second time.

However, Mr Sarwar called on the Electoral Commission to investigate claims that Mr Werritty was effectively a privately funded adviser to the Defence Secretary.

If true, this would be a donation to Dr Fox which would legally have to be declared under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, the Glasgow Central MP said.

“Records of donors available on the Electoral Commission website list a number of donations to Dr Fox, but none of these date from after the 2010 election – a period when Mr Werritty is reported to have been an adviser to Dr Fox – and it is unclear whether these donations relate to money used for the employment of Adam Werritty,” said Mr Sarwar. “Additionally, Dr Fox’s entry in the House of Commons Register of Members’ Financial Interests makes no reference to Adam Werritty.”

Dr Fox insisted he was “back to complete normal working mode”, rejecting Labour claims that the furore over his friend was distracting him from his job.

But Mr Miliband said: “This uncertainty is not good for the country. We’ve got a distracted Defence Secretary and a distracted government.”

The Labour leader said Mr Cameron was showing himself to be “a weak Prime Minister, seemingly unable to make the right decision”.

Dr Fox yesterday cancelled a public appearance at a keel-laying ceremony in Barrow to attend a meeting of the National Security Council to discuss Libya.