The Real Werritty Scandal 128


This information comes straight from a source with direct access to the Cabinet Office investigation into Fox’s relationship with Werritty.

Gus O’Donnell, Cabinet Secretary, has fixed with Cameron the lines of his investigation to allow him to whitewash Fox. This will be done by the standard method of only asking very narrow questions, to which the answer is known to be satisfactory. In this case, the investigation into Werritty’s finances will look only at the very narrow question of whether he received specific payments that can be linked directly to the setting up of specific meetings with Fox. The answer is thought to be no; that is what Fox was indicating by his extraordinary formulation to the House of Commons that Werritty was “not dependent on any transactional behaviour to maintain his income”.

So O’Donnell will announce that Werritty received no specific money for specific meetings with or introductions to Fox.

But the deal between Cameron, Fox and O’Donnell is that O’Donnell will not address the much more important question of who funded Werritty and why. Having claimed there was no wrongdoing, O’Donnell will say Mr Werritty’s finances are private and should not be made public. It was on that basis that Werritty agreed to give financial details to Sue Gray in the Cabinet Office yesterday.

The Cabinet Office will only look for direct evidence of a little grubby money-making for introductions to Fox. But what is actually happening is much worse and much more serious. Who paid for Werritty’s eighteen overseas trips with Liam Fox and his stays in exclusive hotels in the World’s most expensive destinations? What does he live on?

The answer is that Werritty is paid by representatives of far right US and Israeli sources to influence the British defence secretary. It has been discussed within the MOD whether Werritty is being – knowingly or otherwise – run as an agent of influence by the CIA or Mossad. That is why the chiefs of the armed forces are so concerned, and why there is today much gagging at the stitch up within the Cabinet Office.

This has parallels to the Christine Keeler case but is much, much worse.

That the British Defence Minister holds frequent unrecorded meetings in the Ministry and abroad with somebody promoting the interests of foreign powers is much, much worse than a little cash-grubbing. That the person representing the foreign powers is actually present, apparently to all as a ministerial adviser, at meetings of Fox with important representatives of foreign nations is simply appalling.

That we are being so easily misdirected to a narrow cash question – and that the media have followed that misdirection – is ludicrous.


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128 thoughts on “The Real Werritty Scandal

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  • Uzbek in the UK

    Sheila,
    .
    I am not stating that at Oxbridge students who are from rich background get better marks, but what I am stating is that those whose parents graduated from Oxbridge are 100 times more likely to get place there than those who attended school in Tower Hamlet (also people with the same red blood in their veins). And that those rich chavs will feel themselves more comfortable there making right connections that will help them to boost their carrier.
    .
    And also do you have anything to say about this article http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/dec/06/oxford-colleges-no-black-students

  • Aaron Anonymous

    Uzbek

    Did you even read that article?

    Over the five years to 2009 entry black students accounted for 1.5% of admissions to Cambridge, compared with 1.2% of degree applicants nationally who secure AAA at A-level.

    Your point is pure bullshit.

  • Uzbek in the UK

    Aaron,
    .
    Now, out of these 1.2% of degree applications who secured AAA levels how many are from ‘correct’ socio-economic background? Do you have this data? Then you are correct by stating that my point is bullshit.

  • Aaron Anonymous

    What is a correct socio-economic background? For what it’s worth I was living in Tower Hamlets when I applied to Cambridge.
    .
    I’ll leave this now, it’s off topic.

  • Uzbek in the UK

    Komodo,
    .
    Are you following my points and arguments from the start? Anno was putting blame for every sins of humankind on Thatcherism (I think that he only left out plague). I was stating that although Thatcherism caused a lot of social problems in the UK it has not been all bad. There have been some aspects of it that have benefited some societies and to a certain extend in the UK.
    .
    Now, I think it is irrelevant which government was in power when UK was involved in Suez War what is relevant is that it was before Thatcher hence it was not only after Thatcher ‘messed up’ UK government was fighting immoral wars.
    .
    Palestinians have been trying to sort out their statehood since 1950th and UK as permanent member of the UN Security Council did nothing to bring some justice to it. And there have been many non-Tory governments since 1950th and certainly before Thatcher ‘messed up’ British politics.

  • mary

    When are we going to rise together as one and chuck out the whole shooting match?
    .
    Commons Speaker John Bercow has pushed through a ‘disgraceful’ £9 million increase in Parliament’s budget despite auditors refusing to sign off last year’s accounts.
    .
    Figures buried in the annual accounts of the House of Commons reveal it will receive a four per cent increase in its budget this year – from £219 million to £228 million.
    .
    The move emerged as the National Audit Office (NAO) refused to sign off Parliament’s accounts for the second year running because of continuing concerns about MPs’ expenses.
    .
    The spending watchdog said it could not approve the accounts because the Commons authorities had refused to hand over details of expenses claimed by MPs who were being investigated by the police for fraud. Auditor General Amyas Morse described the refusal as ‘disappointing’
    .
    And from an item about Sir Gus O’Donnell being given a peerage by Cameron –
    .
    Following the news that Sir Gus O’Donnell is to retire as head of the civil service at the end of the year, David Cameron will be nominating him for a life peerage. This takes the number of sitting peers to 790.
    .
    Cameron alone has created nearly 120 since becoming PM. Shouldn’t there now be a mechanism whereby the number can be whittled down?

  • Uzbek in the UK

    Aaron,
    .
    Have you met many more like you at Cambridge? How many out of these 1.2% of lucky ones came from Tower Hamlet or similar ‘prosper’ boroughs?
    .
    You are right it is off topic and apologies to Mr Murray for this.

  • Kit Green

    Mary: Figures buried in the annual accounts of the House of Commons reveal it will receive a four per cent increase in its budget this year

    Far cheaper just to close the place down. Sell the tourist operating licence to a multinational theme park operator.

    Install the vindicated Liam Fox as our great leader and follow the policies whispered into his ear by Werritty (or his replacement now that his cover is broken).

    A new age of prosperity will dawn!

    A new ministry will write these comments!

  • Sheila

    Uzbek. My last comment on this matter. I read the article that you linked and, somehow, I am not surprised. I am from Scotland originally and when my parents attended my PhD graduation at a Cambridge college one of the resident academics was wittering on about black emancipation. My father commented: “not many blacks here I notice” (there were none) but was ignored. So I think that the average Cambridge academic is well-meaning, but blind. As to your comment that connections mean anything, I doubt it very much (except in a few cases). Your un-cited statistic about children of parents from Oxbridge vs Tower Hamlet having 100x chance of getting a place at Oxbridge, if true, is not that surprising. Most Oxbridge graduates value education and push their kids to succeed at school,and do everything in their power to help; I doubt that is universally the case at Tower Hamlet. So do not blame University admissions that seek only to accept the best and brightest students. And I do not see reverse discriminatory policies as the answer: you only have to look at certain “Universities” in the USA to see where that leads. Truly, I don’t know the answer, but it is simply not whining about imagined discrimination.

  • mark_golding

    The Demise of ‘Atlantic Bridge’ and the future of the Britain’s Health & Social Systems. A Heads-Up.
    .
    In 2009 US Congressman John Campbell sat on Dr Fox’s ‘Atlantic Bridge’ advisory panel and became embroiled in a bitter row over how the NHS was being presented to the American public in the fierce debate on Obama’s healthcare reform plans.
    .
    Despite assurances from Agent Cameron that his party was ‘bringing radical changes’ that would privatise lucrative parts of the NHS, Congressman Campbell concluded that “Britain’s socialised medicine system is enormously inefficient and wasteful.
    .
    Seems to me that under the Tory party leadership our systems will end up like the dentists surgery, despite increased National Insurance payments – pay-up or suffer…

  • Uzbek in the UK

    Sheila,
    .
    I certainly appreciate your time and efforts and even more your arguments.
    .
    It is of course universal true that those parents who attended universities (any university and not only Oxbridge) will do their best to put their children to university (my own family is good example of it). It is also true that those parents who has financial ability will pay for their children education in private schools WHERE their children will certainly get better education and will have more chance of achieving desired AAA levels that are as air needed to get place at Oxbridge (on the other hand one might seriously doubt that Boris Johnson has achieved AAA levels).
    .
    And simple fact with Oxbridge is that (and it has been for centuries) their selectiveness leaves out some smart but ‘unlucky by birth’ children and denies them places. One can certainly justify this and be perfectly right and one can blame Oxbridge for their over selectiveness.
    .
    Michail Lomonosov, Russian scientist and founder of first Russian University can be one of examples of how denying hunger for knowledge can be obstacle to a progress.

  • Other Mod

    Sorry Mark, us mods don’t know why this happens; we have Moderator’s privileges, not Admin, and the software is cranky. I saw your message that your comments weren’t getting through, and logged into the moderator’s pages – I see I have some sorting out to do. There is also some spam to clear.

  • mary

    Craig gets some mentions in this piece by the MediaLens editors.
    .
    Targeting Syria – The ‘Bad News’ For The Guardian

    Afghanistan and Iraq may still be in flames. A bloodbath may continue to flow from Nato’s ‘humanitarian intervention’ in Libya. No matter, mainstream journalists are appalled that a double Russian and Chinese veto at the UN has thwarted Western efforts to do more good in Syria. The two powers rejected the latest draft of a UN Security Council resolution condemning the Syrian government and preparing the way for international sanctions.
    /….
    http://www.medialens.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=648:targeting-syria-the-bad-news-for-the-guardian&catid=24:alerts-2011&Itemid=9

  • Komodo

    I lost a post earlier, too. Not monumentally important, but it would be nice to see it!
    .
    [Mod: it should be visible now.
    Mark Golding, I’ve deleted some duplicates of your comments.
    Apologies to all.]

  • Uzbek in the UK

    Mark,
    .
    Why should Tory care about NHS? They have enough money to attend private GPs and hospitals.
    .
    As for rest of us, did we really need Tory government?

  • willyrobinson

    Dont know what to make of this. Not that I mistrust Craig or his sources, but the deflection of mainstream media from their duty is just too predictable, too grim to bear. Noone seems to want to touch the whole sorry world of dodgy charities either. Labour/Lib Dems don’t seem to have anything to say about that, as if it’s a repeat of the expenses scandal. Who’d vote eh?

  • DLJ

    Am I missing something here. Other media are reporting that the man behind Fox with the money is one Australian businessman called Michael Hintze. Clearly, there are private donors funding the fat guy with the 2:2 in Public Administration, but so far I have not seen anything that suggests that this is some kind of CIA MOSSAD operation. Craig says that he is being paid by far right USA and Israeli interests but, with the best will in the world, the evidence for this has not appeared on this blog or anywhere. I am happy to believe it, if true, but why should I believe it?

    Suggestions please in the boxes below!

  • willyrobinson

    Why should I believe it?
    .
    His sources are so far impeccable. And they’re not saying any more than that HMG is concerned that Fox is being played. Unfortunately we probably won’t get any confirmation of this, and the fact that it’s allegedly a big deal will only hasten the cover-up.

  • mary

    I wondered what connection Fox had to the Spice Girls on this chart.http://whoknowswho.channel4.com/people/Dr_Liam_Fox
    His judgement was as poor when Hague was leader (no laughing in the back) as it is now. He had to make a public apology to them for this very tasteless joke.
    .
    Dr Fox was forced to apologise when it was revealed that he had told guests at a Commons Christmas party: “What do you call three dogs and a blackbird? Answer: The Spice Girls.” Clearly unamused by the remark, a spokesman for the group said: “One thing is for sure –
    no one has ever heard of Liam Fox so no one would bother making offensive jokes about him.”
    .
    The chart obviously needs updating with Werritty and the BICOM donors etc.although it does have Lieberman, Gove, Hague and Thatcheriof the Atlantic Bridge.
    View full size and then click on the connections shown on a name.

  • mark_golding

    Uzbek In The UK
    .
    I believe and have stated on this board my absolute faith in the medical profession. By that I mean the doctors, surgeons and health professionals sworn to a covenant that includes warmth, sympathy, and understanding to fellow human beings.
    .
    No matter what problems befall us we can be confident our local practice will attempt to alleviate anguish and pain so that we can enjoy our lives It really is the bed-rock of British society and binds our communities. and it is freely available to everyone including the infirm in complete privacy.
    .
    More than a fire-wall, these professionals protect, help and guide us when we need it. Yet they themselves are not infallible as witnessed by a bus-bomb exploding in front of their headquarters which I believe expressed a hate from those who seek to destroy our unity and resolve by fear and intimidation.
    .
    Under jungle rule no man’s life is safe, no man’s wife, no man’s mother, sister, children, home, liberty, rights and property. That type of rule belongs to the soul-less, those who favour extermination, extra-judicial killings, torture and violations in sovereignty over morality and law. It is those soul-less who will seek to kill and imprison physicians and medics, those concerned for Human Rights who speak out against injustice and treat those slain by the thugs that guard the hypocrites and deceivers hiding in their war bunkers or palaces away from the screams and the stench of death.

  • angrysoba

    The answer is that Werritty is paid by representatives of far right US and Israeli sources to influence the British defence secretary.
    .
    Presumably these sources have names. Who are they?
    .

    It has been discussed within the MOD whether Werritty is being – knowingly or otherwise – run as an agent of influence by the CIA or Mossad.
    .
    Is this in addition to being paid by the far-right in the US and Israel? Because, ideological ax-grinding notwithstanding, the CIA and Mossad don’t technically or ostensibly stand on the left-right spectrum.
    .
    That is why the chiefs of the armed forces are so concerned, and why there is today much gagging at the stitch up within the Cabinet Office.
    .
    Cameron’s government is a pretty weak affair. It’s fortunate for them that the Lib Dems are so venal they’ll do anything to keep the Tories afloat. Why doesn’t Cameron just kick Fox out? Because Fox knows too much????
    .

  • angrysoba

    Dr Fox was forced to apologise when it was revealed that he had told guests at a Commons Christmas party: “What do you call three dogs and a blackbird? Answer: The Spice Girls.” Clearly unamused by the remark, a spokesman for the group said: “One thing is for sure –
    no one has ever heard of Liam Fox so no one would bother making offensive jokes about him.”

    .
    What a plonker! There were five Spice Girls! Talk about being out of touch!

  • mary

    Well said Mark and we could ask where will these doctors, nurses and health professionals in the private sector, tending to the insured and the well off, get their training and experience. Not in a private hospital I can assure Uzbek.

  • mary

    Privatisation of the police is also taking place. What next? These are the plans to outsource some of the functions of Surrey and West Midlands police forces.
    .
    http://www.west-midlands-pa.gov.uk/documents/committees/public/2011/08_PolAuth_29Sept2011_Business_Partnering_For_Police_Programme.pdf
    Note the jargon and the acronyms.
    .
    Reported by the BBC as ‘Surrey Police agree to public-private move to cut costs. Mr Rowley said the force would move “cautiously forward” with plans to use the private sector
    .
    Police ‘may use private sector’
    Fears over forensic merger plans
    Six police stations up for sale
    .
    Plans for Surrey Police to step into “unexplored territory” and team up with a private organisation to cut costs have been approved.
    .
    Surrey Police Authority has given the go-ahead for the force to use the private sector in non-frontline areas.
    .
    Chief Constable Mark Rowley said the force would move “cautiously forward”.
    {http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-15297345}
    .
    Confidentialty issues arise too?

  • deepgreenpuddock

    i will intervene, slightly unwillingly, in the ‘Oxbridge is for Toffs’ spat going on. There was certainly a time when these universities were the final leg of a process that went mainly through the public school system. Public schools were public but only in the sense that the public was defined as people of title-basically baronets up. The majority of the remainder of the population were mainly without rights, consisting of labouring people and domestic servants, although there were various grades of yeoman and burgesses, and significant merchants and tradespeople, artisans and artists and clergymen who had status by virtue of their roles or abilities. Women were also excluded until relatively recently. A very few commoners had been given some privileges through their remarkable abilities, or special significance with other people of high position. Besides there was a thriving concubine role, which must have spawned countless socially intermediary types of children, some of whom would have been considered worthy of higher education. Likewise there must have been countless toff jackasses who were packed off to the navy, or army to kill inferior forms of humanity , as well as some who were kept home due to their unfitness for a life anywhere else. So, certainly the system was nominally socially exclusive at the time when feudalism was still a dominant factor. However, like all such human activities, it was leaky and imperfect.
    Apart from that there has always been a system of cherry picking the bright boys from the most unlikely sources and some patron may well have provided the social cachet (and a stipend) for the gifted but of humble birth.
    .
    Isaac Newton was not a toff but was certainly provided with a university education at Cambridge
    There was also a time, the 17th century when Oxbridge was inaccessible due to the costs involved of all the associations and clubs and activities a gentleman was expected to take part in. When the middle classes started to expand, this development simply provided the impetus for the creation of other universities and institutions. Places like Imperial College and Manchester University were created for the children of the growing middle classes and provided an alternative, with emphases in Technology and Science rather than the Law and Classics.
    .
    Although the idea, or impression, of Oxbridge exclusiveness persists it has to be said that it is a long time since overt social factors were important. Oxbridge are jealous of their status and impose what they believe is a higher entry standard than many other institutions. However it also seems to me that the subtleties of fine social detail persist in some ways. Some of the keys to Oxbridge are provided for people of ‘standing’, or who at least know the system. Someone attending a comprehensive in Aberdeen whose dad and/or mum live modestly, is unlikely to attend Oxbridge, just as someone who went to Eton, of equal, or lesser ability than his or her Aberdeen counterpart, will have the expectation that they will attend some ‘superior’ Oxbridge college and will often perceive their attendance at Oxbridge as part of the preparation or initiation into the higher activities of government, the diplomatic or civil service, or some of the other highly select activities, such as becoming a researcher for one of the bigger political beasts or finding an internship within the high offices of (say) shell or BP or in a position to do the ‘year at Harvard’.
    .
    On a final note I have to say that an Oxford (science) graduate (not a toff ) who supervised my Ph.D was a slippery lying toerag who falsified his results shamelessly in order to slither further than he might otherwise have managed, and to acquire funds that would have been more usefully applied elsewhere.
    ( not that I can blame Oxford for that, but one senses he ‘got away with it’ more than he might otherwise have).
    And what about Porterhouse Blue. Was Tom Sharpe making it ALL up? Was Scullion a pure figment of his imagination?
    .
    finally, I am agog at the energy of some of the posters here. Keep the flow of revelations coming, all the sooner to end the hideous, squalid and dull mediocrity of this shyster charade of government.

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