 |
| Hunt: not much to smile about |
Baroness Warsi, the Conservative Party co-chairman, became the first minister to be referred to the prime minister’s adviser on ministerial interests, after allegations that she failed to declare her connection to Abid Hussain when he joined the trip shortly after the 2010 election.
Labour said Cameron’s decision threw “into sharp relief” his refusal to hold a similar inquiry into Jeremy Hunt, despite “clear evidence” that he had broken the ministerial code.
Cameron has repeatedly refused to involve his adviser, Sir Alex Allan, in the investigation of the government’s handling of News Corporation’s takeover of BSkyB, despite claims that Hunt breached the code on several occasions.
Lady Warsi wrote to Cameron apologising for failing to declare her connection with Hussain to the Foreign Office and the Cabinet Office before the trip. However, she insisted the visit could not have resulted in any financial benefit either to Hussain or the company involved.
Hussain is Lady Warsi’s husband’s second cousin, and the pair are both minority shareholders in a food company.
In reply, Cameron said he accepted her apology but added that he was referring the matter to Sir Alex. In her letter, Lady Warsi blamed the omission on the fact she was new to office at the time of the visit, and insisted Hussain’s role had had nothing to do with his business interests.
Michael Dugher, Labour’s shadow Cabinet Office minister, said it was right for the Warsi case to be referred to Sir Alex but contrasted it with the decision not to refer Hunt.
“Baroness Warsi clearly has very serious questions to answer,” he said. “But Cameron’s actions in this case draw into sharp relief his refusal to hold a similar investigation into Jeremy Hunt, despite clear evidence that he broke the ministerial code by misleading the House of Commons on at least three occasions. Cameron is bending over backwards to defend Jeremy Hunt because he knows that it is his own judgment, in appointing a man he knew to be biased to oversee the BSkyB bid, that is in question.”