Old hands in Westminster are confident that they know what lies behind the Liam Fox-Adam Werritty relationship. With a knowing glint in their eye, they lean forward and whisper: ‘He’s a lobbyist.’ They’ve seen it all before, they say. It explains why Werritty thought it was worth spending tens of thousands of pounds just to be in the same city as the Defence Secretary. ‘We all know the drill with these people,’ one senior Tory explains. ‘Their job is to get as close to you as possible and if it is easier to bump into you in Dubai or Washington than London, that’s where they’ll do it.’
Lobbyists for special interests are a cancer on the body politic. They distort our democracy, skewing it in favour of those who can afford their services. Their job is to become friends with ministers, MPs, special advisers — anyone with access to power, and use that position to make the case for their clients.
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