British Defense Secretary Liam Fox resigned on Friday, following a scandal with his close friend, Adam Werritty, who was involved in ministerial affairs despite having no official government role, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Fox was forced to resign after it turned out that Werritty attended 18 of the minister’s overseas trips and distributed business cards claiming he was Fox's adviser though he did not hold the official position.
In his resignation letter to Prime Minister David Cameron, Fox said that he had “mistakenly allowed the distinction between my personal interest and my government activities to become blurred.”
Cameron has ordered to carry out an examination into Fox’s abuse of power.
Fox's resignation leaves vacant the top position of the Ministry of Defense at a time when British forces are still being deployed on a NATO-backed campaign in Libya and continue their ten-year mission in Afghanistan.
“I am proud also to have played a part in helping to liberate the people of Libya, and I regret that I will not see through to its conclusion Britain's role in Afghanistan, where so much progress has been made,” Fox added.
