Official report: Clear danger in blurring of roles between public and private

Cabinet secretary Gus O'Donnell reports on Liam Fox's breach of the ministerial code.

"There is a clear risk that some of Mr Werritty’s international contacts may have gained the impression that he was speaking for and/or representing the UK government. As is made clear above about the handling of meetings in the MOD Main Building similar issues arise in relation to overseas visits. This illustrates the danger of a blurring of lines and a lack of clarity of roles which was unacceptable and Dr Fox must bear some responsibility for this. Private office attendance was offered for both the visits set out above and declined by Dr Fox. This should not have been allowed to happen. Ministers should respect the advice they are given particularly when there are security or propriety implications for the decisions they take.

"Dr Fox’s close and visible association with Mr Werritty in the UK and overseas, and the latter’s use of business cards portraying himself as an advisor to Dr Fox, risked creating the impression that Mr Werritty spoke on behalf of the UK government or was officially associated with Dr Fox. This was a particular problem in this case given the very large number of instances where Dr Fox met Mr Werritty overseas, and the damage arose because of the frequency and extent of these contacts and that they were not regulated as well as they should have been."