Liam Fox ordered to pay back £3,000

Former defence secretary Liam Fox has been ordered to repay £3,000 of expenses after criticism that he allowed his friend Adam Werritty to live rent-free at his taxpayer-funded second home.

Parliamentary Standards Commissioner John Lyon said Mr Werritty had received "a considerable financial benefit" from using Dr Fox's London flat for a year. Dr Fox, who resigned in October over his controversial relationship with Mr Werritty, was also criticised for allowing their Atlantic Bridge think tank to be run from his parliamentary offices.

After an inquiry by Mr Lyon, MPs on the cross-party Standards and Privileges Committee told Dr Fox to pay back £3,000 of his allowances and apologise in writing for breaking parliamentary rules.

Mr Werritty, who came to prominence last year after promoting himself as an adviser to Dr Fox, stayed at the Tory MP's London flat for a year from October 2002. He was there "most weekdays" although he was away for eight weeks of the year, according to the Standards Commissioner's report.