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| Liam Fox to address MPs after critical report | Liam Fox to address MPs after critical report |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Former Defence Secretary Liam Fox is expected to make a statement to MPs later after a report found he had broken ministerial rules over his links with his close friend Adam Werritty. | Former Defence Secretary Liam Fox is expected to make a statement to MPs later after a report found he had broken ministerial rules over his links with his close friend Adam Werritty. |
| Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell's report said there had been a "failure of judgement", for which Mr Fox took ultimate responsibility. | Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell's report said there had been a "failure of judgement", for which Mr Fox took ultimate responsibility. |
| The issue is also expected to be raised at prime minister's questions. | The issue is also expected to be raised at prime minister's questions. |
| Labour says "big questions" remain unanswered about the controversy. | Labour says "big questions" remain unanswered about the controversy. |
| Sir George Young, Leader of the House, has been pencilled in by Downing Street to make a statement on behalf of the government following prime minister's questions. | |
| But Labour is considering attempting to force Prime Minister David Cameron into making the address instead by triggering an urgent question in the House. | |
| The language of Whitehall is often opaque, but, on this occasion, Sir Gus O'Donnell's words are anything but. Liam Fox, he says, breached the ministerial code, he put his staff at risk, he did not live up to the standards required of him. | The language of Whitehall is often opaque, but, on this occasion, Sir Gus O'Donnell's words are anything but. Liam Fox, he says, breached the ministerial code, he put his staff at risk, he did not live up to the standards required of him. |
| The cabinet secretary's report does not answer all the questions, not by a long chalk. But its judgement is clear and it is one that the former defence secretary could not have survived. | The cabinet secretary's report does not answer all the questions, not by a long chalk. But its judgement is clear and it is one that the former defence secretary could not have survived. |
| Most Conservative MPs I spoke to said the language was strong enough to rule out any early return to office for Mr Fox. Much, they said, depended in the short term on the tone of his resignation statement to the Commons, and in the long term on the role he carves out for himself on the backbenches. | Most Conservative MPs I spoke to said the language was strong enough to rule out any early return to office for Mr Fox. Much, they said, depended in the short term on the tone of his resignation statement to the Commons, and in the long term on the role he carves out for himself on the backbenches. |
| But he and the government cannot move on quite yet. Labour is still pressing for a wider investigation. There is still the possibility of police and parliamentary inquiries. And the elusive Mr Werritty has hired himself some libel lawyers. This isn't over yet. | But he and the government cannot move on quite yet. Labour is still pressing for a wider investigation. There is still the possibility of police and parliamentary inquiries. And the elusive Mr Werritty has hired himself some libel lawyers. This isn't over yet. |
| The opposition wants the government to publish details of all the meetings Mr Werritty had with government ministers outside of the Ministry of Defence and are pressing the prime minister to say what he knew about Mr Werritty's business activities and donations solicited by Mr Werritty and Mr Fox. | |
| Mr Fox resigned from the government on Friday, saying he had allowed his personal loyalties and professional responsibilities to become "blurred" over his dealings with Mr Werritty, his former flatmate and self-styled adviser. | |
| Sir Gus's report, published on Tuesday, said Mr Fox had been warned about his working relationship with Mr Werritty by both his private office and permanent secretary but decided it was acceptable and should continue. | Sir Gus's report, published on Tuesday, said Mr Fox had been warned about his working relationship with Mr Werritty by both his private office and permanent secretary but decided it was acceptable and should continue. |
| The report said there had been a "clear breach" of the ministerial code on conflicts of interest but the former defence secretary did not benefit financially nor was national security compromised. | The report said there had been a "clear breach" of the ministerial code on conflicts of interest but the former defence secretary did not benefit financially nor was national security compromised. |
| Despite having no role in the government nor the Conservative Party, Mr Werritty met up with Mr Fox on 18 overseas trips, attended a number of important meetings with him, and had carried cards describing himself as his adviser. | Despite having no role in the government nor the Conservative Party, Mr Werritty met up with Mr Fox on 18 overseas trips, attended a number of important meetings with him, and had carried cards describing himself as his adviser. |
| The report found Mr Werritty had had "inappropriate" access to Mr Fox's diary - posing a "degree of security risk" to Mr Fox and any officials accompanying him. | The report found Mr Werritty had had "inappropriate" access to Mr Fox's diary - posing a "degree of security risk" to Mr Fox and any officials accompanying him. |
| It also concluded that the former cabinet minister should have declared to officials that donors who had provided funding to him when the Conservatives had been in opposition also gave money to Mr Werritty's firm Pargav. | It also concluded that the former cabinet minister should have declared to officials that donors who had provided funding to him when the Conservatives had been in opposition also gave money to Mr Werritty's firm Pargav. |
| Sir George Young said it was "quite clear what went wrong". | |
| "Warnings were given to Mr Fox by his department and he chose to ignore them and nothing happened," he told Channel 4 News. | "Warnings were given to Mr Fox by his department and he chose to ignore them and nothing happened," he told Channel 4 News. |
| "One of the key recommendations by the cabinet secretary was that should that ever occur again, it should be escalated, firstly to the cabinet secretary and ultimately to the prime minister." | "One of the key recommendations by the cabinet secretary was that should that ever occur again, it should be escalated, firstly to the cabinet secretary and ultimately to the prime minister." |
| Asked whether the report's findings ruled out a return to office for Mr Fox, Sir George said such considerations were "way beyond my pay grade" but he hoped the Conservatives could "harness his (Mr Fox's) talents and energies in some way". | Asked whether the report's findings ruled out a return to office for Mr Fox, Sir George said such considerations were "way beyond my pay grade" but he hoped the Conservatives could "harness his (Mr Fox's) talents and energies in some way". |
| BBC deputy political editor James Landale said MPs believed the criticism in the report ruled out any early return to government. | BBC deputy political editor James Landale said MPs believed the criticism in the report ruled out any early return to government. |