PM 'weak' over Fox, claims Miliband

Liam Fox rejected Labour claims that the furore over his friend was distracting him from his job
12 April 2012

David Cameron has shown himself to be a "weak Prime Minister" in his handling of allegations against Defence Secretary Liam Fox, Labour leader Ed Miliband has said.

Mr Miliband blasted "delay and indecision" over how to deal with claims of inappropriate links between Dr Fox and his close friend, defence lobbyist Adam Werritty, and said the Prime Minister should have called in his independent adviser on ministerial conduct, Sir Philip Mawer.

But Mr Cameron said it would have been weak for him to jump to conclusions before knowing all the facts.

His comments came as the BBC broadcast fresh allegations that wealthy backers of Dr Fox funded Mr Werritty's work and travel as he joined the Defence Secretary at meetings and conferences around the world over the past 18 months.

Questions have been asked over how Mr Werritty, who was Dr Fox's flatmate and best man at his wedding, could have afforded his globe-trotting lifestyle and why he was present at meetings despite having no official position at the Ministry of Defence.

Speaking in Aberdeen, the Prime Minister said: "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."

Mr Cameron said it was right to wait for Cabinet Secretary 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.

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.

"I'm continuing to do what is needed at the moment, which is that the Defence Secretary focuses on defence issues," he told reporters.

But Mr Miliband said: "This uncertainty is not good for the country. We've got a distracted Defence Secretary and a distracted Government."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Sign up you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy notice .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in