Fox put his security at risk, says official inquiry

And Dr Fox’s failure of judgment in arranging a litany of unofficial contacts with Mr Werritty constituted a clear breach of the Ministerial Code of Conduct, Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell said in his report published last night.

Sir Gus said Dr Fox should have declared details of his relationship with Mr Werritty to his permanent secretary at the Ministry of Defence.

He said Dr Fox’s “close and visible association” with Mr Werritty, and the latter’s misleading use of business cards describing himself as Dr Fox’s adviser, fuelled a general impression that Mr Werritty spoke on behalf of the British Government.

Sir Gus said there had been a “blurring of lines” between Dr Fox’s private and official responsibilities which was “not appropriate and not acceptable”. He strongly criticised Dr Fox for allowing Mr Werritty access to details of his official diary.

Dr Fox, who resigned over the scandal last Friday, said in a statement he welcomed the report’s conclusions that he had not actually benefited financially from his behaviour.

Downing Street said it accepted the report and would implement the recommendations within it to help ensure mistakes are not repeated by other Ministers.

But Labour’s Shadow Defence Secretary Jim Murphy said the report “only scratches the surface of potential wrongdoing”, and that many more questions remain unanswered.

‘Unanswered questions’ in official report: Page 4.