Defence Secretary Liam Fox yesterday apologised for making a mistake in allowing “distinctions to be blurred” in his working relationship with former flatmate Adam Werritty.

It is important that the breadth of this inquiry matches the severity of the accusations

In a statement released on his return to London, Dr Fox conceded that his “frequent contacts with him may have given an impression of wrongdoing”.

The beleaguered Tory also accepted that their close ties may have given outsiders the “misleading impression that Mr Werritty was an official adviser rather than simply a friend”.

He said: “I accept that it was a mistake to allow distinctions to be blurred between my professional responsibilities and my personal loyalties to a friend. I am sorry for this.

“At no stage did I or my department provide classified information or briefings to Mr Werritty or assist with his commercial work – let alone benefit personally from this work.

“Nevertheless, I do accept that given Mr Werritty’s defence-related business interests, my frequent contacts with him may have given an impression of wrongdoing, and may also have given third parties the misleading impression that Mr Werritty was an official adviser rather than simply a friend.

“I have learned lessons from this experience.”

Dr Fox has apologised to Prime Minister David Cameron, who is poised to make a decision on his fate today after receiving a report into the controversy.

The Defence Secretary added: “I accept that with the benefit of hindsight I should have taken much greater care to ensure that any meetings with Adam Werritty, at which defence- and security-related issues were raised, were properly attended by officials and recorded – to protect myself and the Government from any suggestion of wrongdoing.

“I have apologised to the Prime Minister and agreed with my permanent secretary to put in place new procedures to ensure that this does not happen again.”

Dr Fox insisted he will “answer all questions in the House of Commons” tomorrow following demands by Labour for him to make a full statement.

It follows a raft of allegations over recent days about the unusual involvement Mr Werritty, best man at the Secretary of State’s wedding, had in brokering meetings for Dr Fox and the access he had to government.

The self-styled adviser had no formal parliamentary or Whitehall position yet accompanied the Defence Secretary on overseas visits and meetings with foreign dignitaries.

Despite claims Mr Werritty had never been involved in official engagements, footage was uncovered yesterday that showed him meeting Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa with Dr Fox in a London hotel last year. He also helped set up a meeting with defence industry representatives at a hotel in Dubai. On Saturday Dr Fox appeared to suggest that the event was arranged following a chance meeting at a restaurant but later was forced to issue an embarrassing statement clarifying his position after e-mails surfaced showing it was pre-arranged. Shadow Defence Secretary Jim Murphy has written to the Prime Minister calling for a full investigation into the controversy, claiming there are “significant shortcomings” in the current internal investigation.

He told Mr Cameron “there are important questions which I do not believe will be sufficiently addressed by this process”.

The letter states: “The terms of reference are narrow and simply inadequate in light of the evidence that has come to light.”

It adds: “This is a totally inadequate response to the scale and nature of the charges that the Secretary of State now faces.

“To arrive at a meaningful judgment on whether the ministerial code has been breached it is necessary to assess all the issues that have been raised.

“As you will know, the 2010 ministerial code states explicitly that it is not the role of officials to enforce the code and it is therefore inappropriate for the Permanent Secretary to undertake this role.

“The code states that if there is an allegation about a breach then you as Prime Minister should refer this to the independent adviser on ministers’ interests.

“This course of action is now clearly necessary and I urge you take it immediately.

“It is important that the breadth of this inquiry matches the severity of the accusations.”

Earlier, former Prime Minister Sir John Major admitted it was an “extremely difficult” situation for Mr Cameron to handle.

“Either natural justice requires you wait a long time and you are then said to be incapable of making decisions or you move too speedily and you are said to be ruthless.

“I don’t know what the situation is. The Prime Minister has asked for the facts to have a first look on Monday (today) and I think that is right.

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