LONDON – British Defence Secretary Liam Fox resigned on Friday amid a furore over his friendship with a businessman with defence interests, dealing a blow to Prime Minister David Cameron’s government and casting doubts on efforts to reform the military.
The British media have in the last week been awash with stories about the nature of the relationship between Fox and his former flatmate and best man at his wedding, Adam Werritty, who met frequently with Fox and falsely claimed to be his adviser. Cameron had given Fox, 50, his support pending the findings of an inquiry, due within days, into whether he had broken ministerial rules by allowing Werritty to benefit from their friendship or have access to classified information.
“I mistakenly allowed the distinction between my personal interest and my government activities to become blurred,” Fox said in a resignation letter to Cameron. “The consequences of this have become clearer in recent days. I am very sorry for this.” Cameron said he was “very sorry” to see Fox go, and praised the “superb job” he had done. “You have overseen fundamental changes in the Ministry of Defence and in our Armed Forces, which will ensure that they are fully equipped to meet the challenges of the modern era,” Cameron said in a letter to Fox.
“On Libya, you played a key role in the campaign to stop people being massacred by the Gaddafi regime and instead win their freedom.”
