Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Uno strano scandalo inglese

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/oct/12/liam-fox-denies-coverup-burglary
 
 
Liam Fox denies cover-up over burglary 10:20 12/10/2011
 
Defence secretary denies allegations that Tory party misled media about 
burglary at his home and says he is 'appalled at being portrayed as 
having something to hide'
 
Liam Fox has denied allegations that Conservative party officials misled 
the media about a burglary at his home last year, saying he was 
"appalled at being portrayed as having something to hide".
 
As the controversy surrounding his working relationship with friend and 
self-styled adviser Adam Werritty continued to grow, the defence 
secretary told journalists on Wednesday morning he would not be 
resigning over the allegations.
 
Asked if he should quit, he told journalists: "I should carry on doing 
the job I'm meant to do, the job I'm paid for."
 
But the speculation shows no sign of dying down. On Tuesday night Fox 
issued a fresh statement in response to a report in the Sun relating to 
the burglary of his home at a crucial point of the general election 
campaign in April 2010.
 
He said he did not know why journalists had been led to believe he had 
been alone in the flat on the night of the burglary when in fact a 
friend had been staying.
 
The friend in question, he added, was not Adam Werritty, his former 
flatmate who met him on overseas trips 18 times in 16 months. Jesme 
Baird, his wife, was "stranded" in Hong Kong due to the Icelandic 
volcano ash cloud.
 
"As I told the police at the time, a friend was staying in the guest 
room ... For the sake of clarity, it wasn't Adam Werritty," said Fox.
 
"I was a victim of a violent crime and I'm appalled at being portrayed 
as having something to hide. We're trying to establish why the media 
were given the impression I was alone."
 
A 17-year-old from Bermondsey in south London was eventually convicted 
of carrying out the burglary on Fox's London Bridge flat, during which 
his laptop computer, a mobile phone and the keys to his car, a Skoda, 
were taken.
 
The thief or thieves drove the car away but later abandoned it. Briefing 
papers for the second debate between party leaders – which took place on 
the night after the burglary – were believed to be in the car. After the 
incident, some journalists, including at the BBC, were allegedly briefed 
that Fox had been at home alone.
 
The focus on the burglary, dismissed as an example of Westminster 
"gossip, innuendo and tittle-tattle" by employment minister Chris 
Grayling this morning, came as fresh doubt was cast on Fox's claims that 
Werritty was operating "in a private capacity" when the men met in Dubai 
this year.
 
Hotel records seen by the Guardian reveal that Werritty booked into the 
five-star Shangri-La hotel earlier this year describing his position as 
"office of Dr Liam Fox" and naming his company as "Atlantic Bridge", the 
defence secretary's controversial rightwing charity that has close links 
to a group of powerful American business lobbyists.
 
Hotel staff said it was normal, but not guaranteed, for the named 
company to pay all or part of the bill. Werritty also gave a contact 
address at the Houses of Parliament.
 
Politicians in Colombo, the Sri Lankan commercial capital, revealed that 
they too assumed that Werritty was an official adviser when he travelled 
there before and after Fox joined the cabinet.
 
Ravi Karunanayake, an opposition MP in Colombo, confirmed meeting Fox in 
2009. "I simply thought he [Werritty] was an assistant or an official or 
something similar," he told the Guardian.
 
David Cameron is unlikely to be able to avoid the allegations 
surrounding his defence secretary at prime minister's questions later on 
Wednesday.
 
Cameron has until now given solid but conditional support for Fox, 
saying that he had made "serious mistakes" but that the results of an 
inquiry by the cabinet secretary, Sir Gus O'Donnell, should be awaited 
before a judgment is reached.
 
Fox himself has pulled out of a press conference he was due to hold in 
Paris for "logistical" reasons.
 
Fox has also pulled out of a keel-laying ceremony in Barrow tomorrow, 
the MoD said. A spokeswoman said the cancellation of his visit was for 
"logistical" reasons and was unconnected to the current controversy over 
his links with Werritty. His place is expected to be taken by another 
minister from the department.
 
In recent days supporters of the defence secretary have hit out at what 
they have claimed are "insinuations" about Fox's private life.
 
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Grayling acknowledged that 
"gossip is certainly circulating" but that Fox and his wife seemed to 
him to be "a very happily married couple".
 
"If you look around the Westminster village you will find all kinds of 
wild gossip about all kinds of individuals in all parties. That doesn't 
mean they are not good at their jobs," said Grayling.
 
He added: "I thought we had got past the point in politics though where 
we needed to worry about people's private lives. The question is 
somebody doing an important and capable job."
 
-- 
Namib
 
"Per realitatem et perfectionem idem intelligo" (Baruch Spinoza)

On 12 Ott, 10:04, Namib <zanzi@bar> wrote:
questo sarebbe ancora piu' divertente, se non ci fossero di mezzo dei
diritti umani
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15171441
Che partito di imbecilli, i Tory.