This is one Fox who doesn’t have the benefit of a hole to bolt into. He is on open
ground, and exposed even more this morning by fresh revelations surrounding his relationship with Andrew Werritty. A business card and a self-aggradising title, that certainly smelt of impropriety.
But now we’re talking about sensitive business meetings arranged by Werritty, and attended by both him and Fox. It’s a whole different level of concern. And it leaves Fox in a most difficult
position.
The FT has the full story, but basically Werritty arranged for Fox to meet a group of businessmen in Dubai looking to transfer “communications technology” to the Libyan rebels. One of the suits present at the meeting tells the paper that, “His business card looks very official. I had no reason to believe Mr Werritty wasn’t what he said he was. But with hindsight we wouldn’t have had the meeting because of the nature of the topics under discussion. These are sensitive technologies for governments.”
Questions abound, not least whether it is normal practice for a Defence Secretary to get so closely involved with what, in effect, sounds like a matter of procurement. And it is right that these questions are asked. Replace “communications technology” with “anti-aircraft missiles,” and the concerns become clearer. While defence policy is always, understandably, shrouded in a cloak of secrecy, there has to be transparency in matters of process. A meeting with friends of friends, organised through unofficial channels, is not how it should be done.
The problem for Fox, particularly after his various denials yesterday, is the potential for this story to escalate. What other meetings were there? What information was Werritty party to? And so on. This is like catnip for journalists, just as it will be for Fox’s opposite number, Jim Murphy. This hasn’t ended yet.
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