Richard Ottaway
Main Page: Richard Ottaway (Conservative - Croydon South)Department Debates - View all Richard Ottaway's debates with the Ministry of Defence
(12 years, 10 months ago)
Commons ChamberThe right hon. Lady raises a key point with which I thought I had already dealt, but let me deal with it again for her. I have made it clear that at no point did Mr Werritty attend departmental meetings; that at no point did he have access to classified documents; that at no point did he have classified briefings; and, therefore, that at no point was any issue of security affecting the United Kingdom either discussed or put at risk. As for the pecuniary interests of Mr Werritty in those particular conferences, I am confident that he was not dependent on any transactional behaviour to maintain his income.
I congratulate the Secretary of State on what he has achieved in the Ministry of Defence to date. Does he agree with one of the oldest maxims in politics? Advisers advise; it is Ministers who decide.
It is Ministers who decide, and, as I have said, I am still awaiting any information or proof that any advice that I was given changed the way in which I made a decision. There has been a lot of speculation and a lot of innuendo, but if someone has an accusation to make—that there was wrongdoing, that there were financial transactions, or that advice was given that changed a ministerial decision—let that person come forward with it.