'We Must Close Our Borders to Migrants Who Burden Britain': Senior Tory Adds Fuel to Incendiary Debate over Immigration from EU That Is Dividing the Cabinet

Former Defence Secretary: Leading Right-wing
flag-bearer Liam Fox has called on David Cameron
to seize the 'historic opportunity' to control our borders

MAIL ONLINE: The Cabinet has been at loggerheads this week over immigration from the EU, with Home Secretary Theresa May leading calls for an end to the influx of workers from poorer European countries – and Foreign Secretary William Hague arguing that it couldn’t be done.

Here, leading Right-wing flag-bearer Liam Fox calls on David Cameron to seize the ‘historic opportunity’ to control our borders.

In last week’s European elections, voters across Europe sent a signal to the bloated, hideously expensive and out-of-touch Brussels bureaucracy.

From Denmark to Greece and from Finland to France, the people of Europe made it clear that they increasingly reject the idea of open borders and mass migration.

Some see it as an economic threat, others as a challenge to their perception of national identity.

Whatever their reasons, political leaders in Europe must take note. I have lost count of the number of people who told me: ‘I wouldn’t dream of voting Ukip in a General Election but I wanted to send a message.’ Usually, this was about immigration. Read on and comment » | Dr Liam Fox | Saturday, May 31, 2014

Liam Fox Resignation Exposes Tory Links to US Radical Right

THE GUARDIAN: Labour and Lib Dem politicians have stepped up demands for the PM to explain ministers' involvement with Atlantic Bridge

David Cameron has been accused of allowing a secret rightwing agenda to flourish at the heart of the Conservative party, as fallout from the resignation of Liam Fox exposed its close links with a US network of lobbyists, climate change deniers and defence hawks.

In a sign that Fox's decision to fall on his sword will not mark the end of the furore engulfing the Tories, both Liberal Democrat and Labour politicians stepped up their demands for the prime minister to explain why several senior members of his cabinet were involved in an Anglo-American organisation apparently at odds with his party's environmental commitments and pledge to defend free healthcare.

At the heart of the complex web linking Fox and his friend Adam Werritty to a raft of businessmen, lobbyists and US neocons is the former defence secretary's defunct charity, Atlantic Bridge, which was set up with the purported aim of "strengthening the special relationship" but is now mired in controversy.

An Observer investigation reveals that many of those who sat on the Anglo-American charity's board and its executive council, or were employed on its staff, were lobbyists or lawyers with connections to the defence industry and energy interests. Others included powerful businessmen with defence investments and representatives of the gambling industry.

Fox's organisation, which was wound up last year following a critical Charity Commission report into its activities, formed a partnership with an organisation called the American Legislative Exchange Council. The powerful lobbying organisation, which receives funding from pharmaceutical, weapons and oil interests among others, is heavily funded by the Koch Charitable Foundation whose founder, Charles G Koch, is one of the most generous donors to the Tea Party movement in the US. In recent years, the Tea Party has become a potent populist force in American politics, associated with controversial stances on global warming.

Via a series of foundations, Koch and his brother, David, have also given millions of dollars to global warming sceptics, according to Greenpeace. Read on and comment » | Toby Helm and Jamie Doward | Saturday, October 15, 2011

Liam Fox Profile: Champion of Traditional Tory Values
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: In a Cabinet heavy with English public school privilege and social liberalism, Dr Liam Fox stood out.

A Scottish Catholic raised in an East Kilbride council house, he went from his state school to Glasgow University. There, he read medicine, won debating competitions and emerged as a Rightwing [sic] Conservative, resigning from the union after it recognised a gay and lesbian society.

First elected in north Somerset in 1992, he rebelled over the Maastricht Treaty, but was still given a job as a junior Foreign Office minister in the Major government. In that role he became involved in attempts to end Sri Lanka's civil war, brokering a settlement – never implemented – known as the Fox Plan.

Gregarious to a fault, stories of his social life are a staple at Westminster. In 2005, aged 44, he married Jesme Baird, a fellow medic and Glaswegian, and used the occasion to dismiss rumours that have dogged him.

"I know that some people use smears and I have heard them for years," he said. "They'd say, 'Why are you not married? You must be a playboy or a wild man or gay,' or whatever. Well, I'm getting married in December and I'm perfectly happy with my private life." » | James Kirkup, Political Correspondent | Sunday, October 09, 2011 [sic?]

TELEGRAPH BLOGS – PETER OBORNE: Liam Fox resigns: he will sink without trace – The resignation of Liam Fox is not nearly as big a deal as it looks. He will sink without trace, and the waves will close over him fast. The issue has been competently handled by David Cameron, who was completely right to ask Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell to conduct a thorough enquiry before reaching a final decision. » | Peter Oborne | Friday, October 14, 2011


THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Defence Secretary Liam Fox resigns over links with friend Adam Werrity: Defence Secretary Liam Fox has resigned after a week of disclosures about this links to his close friend Adam Werritty. » | Christopher Hope, Whitehall Editor | Friday, October 14, 2011

Libya: An Unedifying Muddle for a Country At War
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Telegraph View: Our RAF pilots are entitled to know why they are risking their lives in Libya. Regrettably, no coherent explanation has been given.

When British forces are put in harm's way, as RAF pilots are in the skies over Libya, they are entitled to expect absolute clarity about the purpose of their mission. We ask them to risk their lives for us: they are entitled to know why. Regrettably, no such clarity has accompanied the early stages of the action to uphold UN Resolution 1973.

On Sunday, Dr Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, said that targeting Gaddafi personally "would potentially be a possibility" under the terms of the UN resolution. When the same question was put to General Sir David Richards, the Chief of the Defence Staff, yesterday, he replied: "Absolutely not. It is not allowed under the UN resolution and it is not something I want to discuss any further." At the best of times, it would be alarming to see the political head of the Ministry of Defence publicly at odds with the military head. At a time of conflict, it is unforgivable. Matters quickly went from bad to worse as No 10 briefed that Sir David was "wrong" – not the message you want to hear about your military commander when we are at war. Admittedly, events have been moving quickly. As David Cameron told the Commons yesterday, it had been a "race against time to avoid the slaughter of civilians in Benghazi". Even so, that cannot excuse such discordancy. Both the minister and the general must have been sitting around the same table, listening to the same briefing on the legality and implications of the UN resolution. How could they possibly emerge with such contrasting analyses? Continue reading and comment » | Telegraph View | Monday, March 21, 2011

THE GUARDIAN: Is Muammar Gaddafi a target? PM and military split over war aims: David Cameron says Libyan leader may be a legitimate target while Chief of the Defence Staff said he was 'absolutely not' » | Patrick Wintour and Ewen MacAskill in Washington | Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Afghans Accuse Defence Secretary Liam Fox of Racism and Disrespect
TIMES ONLINE: Liam Fox was under attack last night for damaging Britain’s relations with Kabul after he described Afghanistan as a “broken 13th-century country”.

The Defence Secretary’s comments, made in an interview with The Times published on Saturday, provoked fury from the Afghan Government and media with officials calling the claims racist.

According to senior Afghan officials, Dr Fox’s characterisation of the country was raised at a meeting with President Karzai on Saturday. The President expressed his deep displeasure at the remarks, they said.

In his interview Dr Fox said that there must be a distinction between military and humanitarian goals. “We are not in Afghanistan for the sake of the education policy in a broken 13th-century country. We are there so the people of Britain and our global interests are not threatened.”

A senior Afghan government source said: “His view appears to be that Afghanistan has not changed since the 13th century and it implies that Afghanistan is a tribal and medieval society. Read on and comment >>> Tom Coghlan, Defence Correspondent | Monday, May 24, 2010