Lady Sayeeda Warsi is under investigation for breaking ministerial rules through her dealings with Abid Hussain, a second cousin of her husband.
An official inquiry is looking into an official visit the minister made to Pakistan in 2010. Mr Hussain was present but Lady Warsi failed to inform officials about their shared business interests. The Daily Telegraph reported on Friday that Hussain had been present in at least two meetings Lady Warsi held in London with Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif.
One of the meetings was part of a trade mission intended to “promote investment opportunities” in Pakistan. Lady Warsi’s office said she had not invited Hussain to either event. Lady Warsi this week apologised to David Cameron for embarrassing the government over her dealings with Hussain.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, she gave details of the 2010 trip to Mirpur in Pakistan, which was revealed by the Sunday Telegraph this week. However, the letter did not disclose any official meetings in the UK where Hussain was present. Downing Street yesterday signalled that the inquiry into her conduct was looking only at the Mirpur visit, and would not examine her wider relationship with Hussain.
Shahbaz Sharif visited London for several days last July on what his political party has described as a trade mission.
Video footage and photographs on the website of the Sharifs’ Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party show that Hussain was present at a dinner at a London hotel on July 8 where Lady Warsi presented Shahbaz Sharif with an official gift marking his visit. The pictures show that Hussain sat on the top table at the dinner, along with Lady Warsi and Shahbaz Sharif. When Shahbaz Sharif delivered a speech to the gathering, Hussain sat beside him. A Pakistani television report on the dinner also shows Hussain addressing the event, declaring: “The chief minister is creating opportunities for inward investment.”
Separately, a video posted on the YouTube website shows that Hussain was present when Lady Warsi met Nawaz Sharif at his London home in May 2010.
The film is dated May 17, days after Lady Warsi joined the government as minister without portfolio. Hussain is one of six people visible at the meeting, held in a multimillion pound apartment near London’s Park Lane. At the time of meeting, both Lady Warsi and Hussain were directors of the same company.
Labour has compared Lady Warsi’s relationship with Hussain to the one between Liam Fox, the former defence secretary, and Adam Werrity. Dr Fox resigned last year after it was revealed that Werrity, a friend with links to the defence industry, had accompanied him on foreign trips and attended official meetings.
Lady Warsi has assured Cameron that Hussain gained no financial or commercial benefit from his role in her overseas visits.
Sir Alex Allan, Cameron’s independent adviser on the ministerial code, is now examining her dealings with Hussain. Any evidence that he profited from his dealings with the minister would put her job in jeopardy.