Commissioner To Investigate Fresh Fox Claims

The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner is to investigate allegations Liam Fox let his friend Adam Werritty live rent free and run a business from a property funded by his parliamentary allowances.

The complaint, filed by Labour MP John Mann, could cause further embarrassment to the already disgraced former defence secretary.

A spokesman for John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner, announced he had received the complaint and accepted it.

It comes after Dr Fox read a personal statement to the House of Commons, apologising to MPs in the wake of a critical report into his activities with Mr Werritty.

Dr Fox, who quit last Friday, said he accepted the findings of the report, which concluded he did break the rules.

"I accept the consequences for me without bitterness or rancour," he said.

He said in hindsight he should have been more willing to listen to the concerns of those around him.

In an emotional statement, he said he would miss the Ministry of Defence, had been "overwhelmed" by the supportive messages he received and above all wished to thank his wife Jesme Baird.

But he attacked members of the media for "hounding" members of his family and said elderly relatives had been harassed.

He followed Sir George Young, the Leader of the House, who spoke on the Government's behalf.

Sir George said the rules regarding ministers' conduct had already been tightened and the Coalition remained committed to implementing a statutory register of lobbyists.

Civil service chiefs in Whitehall would be sent updated guidance on ministerial conduct, he said.

Explaining why it was he, not David Cameron, who was taking questions on the issue he said: "No Prime Minister has ever made a statement to the House following the resignation of a minister."

He later added: "We've learnt the lessons and agree we should now move on."

But Angela Eagle, Labour's shadow leader of the House, said the "damning" report failed to investigate the "money trail" linking donors to Mr Werritty.

It also did not examine whether Mr Werritty promised wealthy benefactors anything in return for their money, she said, or why the businessman took trips to Iran, Washington DC and Israel.

A full list of which ministers met Dr Fox's friend must be published by the Prime Minister, she added.

She said Dr Fox "knowingly circumvented the long-established rules to prevent conflicts of interest arising" and undermined the Civil Service.

Her colleague, Hillary Benn, accused the Prime Minister of lacking the "gumption" required to come and take part in the debate.

However, Mr Cameron was quizzed on the subject during Prime Minister's Questions.

Labour leader Ed Miliband criticised the former defence secretary's use of an "unofficial adviser" and said Mr Werritty's role had been funded by "undeclared private donations" solicited by Dr Fox.

"The revelations over the last week about what has been going on in the most sensitive department at the heart of the Prime Minister's Government are deeply worrying," he said.

He asked Mr Cameron to guarantee the public no other minister had behaved in the same way.

Dissatisfied with the Prime Minister's first answer, the Labour leader told the Prime Minister to show "a bit of humility".

But while the Prime Minister acknowledged it was an "important and serious" issue, he said it too late for Mr Miliband to jump on a "bandwagon" as Dr Fox had already resigned.

"I think we should have a little bit of humility from the people who gave us cabs for hire, passport for favours, mortgages for mates, dodgy dossiers, smearing opponents, good days to bury bad news," he shot back towards the Labour benches.

Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell's report criticised Dr Fox for ignoring the advice of senior officials over his links to Mr Werritty.

Dr Fox committed a "clear breach" of the ministerial code of conduct, he found.

It also concluded that by giving his friend access to his diary, Dr Fox created a security risk, not only to himself but also to officials travelling with him on overseas visits.

And an "inappropriate and unacceptable" blurring of lines between official and personal relationships risked creating the false impression that Mr Werritty spoke on behalf of the UK Government.

The 10-page report cleared Dr Fox of making any financial gain from the relationship or of breaching national security.

Their relationship "did not impact on UK foreign or security policy", said Sir Gus, but donations to Mr Werritty's company did create "a perception of a conflict of interest".

After the report was published, Dr Fox said he was "pleased" the report made clear allegations of any financial gain or breach of national security had "no basis".

:: Conservative minister Greg Barker used an external adviser who handed out business cards naming his department, according to reports.

Miriam Maes, an environmental expert, advised the Department for Energy and Climate Change (Decc) after Mr Barker when he was in opposition.

According to the Guardian, she handed out business cards and described herself as Mr Barker's adviser on her website.

Ms Maes' business, Foresee, also advises multinational companies. It earned more than £30,000 from Decc in 2010/2011.

The example was raised in the House of Commons by Labour MP Chris Bryant during the discussion about Dr Fox's resignation.

But a Decc spokesman said Ms Maes advised the department, not the minister, and her role with Mr Barker in opposition was known to Decc.

However, she has been asked to change her website to clarify this, he added.