Britain's Defence Secretary (minister) Liam Fox resigned on Friday night amid allegations that he asked a wealthy Tory donor to fund his best man and former flatmate Adam Werritty.
Dr. Fox quit when he learnt he was to face a torrent of new claims about damaging conflicts of interest between Mr. Werritty's backers and his role as Defence Secretary.
He fell on his sword after the millionaire money men turned on him and deliberately leaked details of how £157,000 was paid to Mr. Werritty to let him fly around the world with Dr. Fox.
Yesterday the Daily Mail reveals that venture capitalist Jon Moulton agreed to fund Mr. Werritty's globetrotting, which included a visit to Sri Lanka, after he bought a defence company that makes components for aircraft including RAF fighter jets and troop transporters.
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| Adam Werritty and Liam Fox during a visit to the Middle East in 2007. |
In a shattering blow to Dr. Fox's credibility, Mr. Moulton, who gave Mr. Werritty's company Pargav £35,000, made the explosive claim on Friday night that Dr. Fox solicited his cash.
He said: 'After the election I was asked by Dr. Fox to provide funds to a non-profit group called Pargav involved in security policy analysis and research.'
Damaging news about the money trail came as Dr. Fox learnt that Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell made it clear that he was likely to find the Defence Secretary in serious breach of the ministerial code of conduct.
Senior figures on the Tory backbenches had also let it be known that they thought he should go. Earlier Mr. Werritty, who had styled himself as Dr. Fox's adviser despite having no official role, had been quizzed for a second time by an official working for Sir Gus. She found his answers about his activities confusing.
Knowing he might be forced out, Dr. Fox telephoned David Cameron around 2.30pm to say he would quit.
Sources said the Prime Minister was 'taken aback' when he received Dr. Fox's call at his constituency home.
Mr. Cameron had been at pains to give the Defence Secretary space to clear his name, partly because of his reluctance to offer up ministerial scalps to media firestorms but also because he knew the Right of the Tory Party would react with fury if he was seen to cut Dr. Fox adrift.
'The PM was waiting for Gus O'Donnell's report which was due early next week,' said a close ally. 'But this drip-drip of allegations meant Liam thought he was dying a death by a thousand cuts.'
Dr. Fox was replaced by Transport Secretary Philip Hammond, whose job went to rising star Justine Greening, the Economic Secretary at the Treasury.
Dr Fox had tried to brazen out the scandal for nearly two weeks but gave up yesterday after the publication of details about Mr. Werritty's money men opened the floodgates to new claims about conflicts of interest.
The Mail can reveal that Mr. Moulton, a longstanding donor to Dr. Fox, paid £60million for defence firm Gardner UK in February 2010. Eight months later he gave money to Mr Werritty.
Clearly disgusted with the way his affairs were dragged into the public sphere, Mr. Moulton said: 'I will not be doing this again.'
He insisted that neither he nor his associates had 'sought or received a benefit of any form from Pargav'.
But his donation occurred during the Government's Strategic Defence Review which meant £5billion of cuts. The RAF aircraft which used Gardner's components escaped unscathed.
© Daily Mail, London
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