Defence Secretary Liam Fox faces a grilling by MPs over whether he has breached ministerial guidelines as more claims surfaced about his working relationship with a former flatmate.
Prime Minister David Cameron will also consider the early findings of an internal investigation into the Secretary of State's dealings with self-styled adviser Adam Werritty as pressure continued to mount on the beleaguered Tory Cabinet minister.
Dr Fox issued an apology for allowing "distinctions to be blurred between my professional responsibilities and my personal loyalties to a friend" when he landed back in Britain after an official visit to Libya.
He conceded that his "frequent contacts with (Werritty) may have given an impression of wrongdoing" and insisted he "learned lessons" from the furore.
However, more claims emerged about the meetings Mr Werritty brokered and the access he enjoyed to government and parliament, despite having no official role.
According to the Daily Telegraph, financial records from 2005/06 show Dr Fox's Commons office budgeted for a £690 National Insurance payment relating to Mr Werritty's employment.
It claims the payment suggests that he had been employed by Dr Fox in the previous year, when he was the director of a company called UK Health, despite never having been issued with a House of Commons security pass.
A spokesman for Dr Fox said the payment could be a mistake or a hangover from previous "internship years".
He said: "There is no record of Adam Werritty working in the Parliamentary office that year. We will urgently be seeking details from Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority to see if this is a legacy payment to HMRC from an internship years before or an accounting error."
The Times claimed Mr Werritty had a reputation among lobbyists as the "go-to guy" for gaining access to the Defence Secretary. It also suggested he was not registered as a member of Dr Fox's Westminster office, despite running a charity from it, which would break Commons rules.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox faces a grilling by MPs over whether he has breached ministerial guidelines as more claims surfaced about his working relationship with a former flatmate.
Prime Minister David Cameron will also consider the early findings of an internal investigation into the Secretary of State's dealings with self-styled adviser Adam Werritty as pressure continued to mount on the beleaguered Tory Cabinet minister.
Dr Fox issued an apology for allowing "distinctions to be blurred between my professional responsibilities and my personal loyalties to a friend" when he landed back in Britain after an official visit to Libya.
He conceded that his "frequent contacts with (Werritty) may have given an impression of wrongdoing" and insisted he "learned lessons" from the furore.
However, more claims emerged about the meetings Mr Werritty brokered and the access he enjoyed to government and parliament, despite having no official role.
According to the Daily Telegraph, financial records from 2005/06 show Dr Fox's Commons office budgeted for a £690 National Insurance payment relating to Mr Werritty's employment.
It claims the payment suggests that he had been employed by Dr Fox in the previous year, when he was the director of a company called UK Health, despite never having been issued with a House of Commons security pass.
A spokesman for Dr Fox said the payment could be a mistake or a hangover from previous "internship years".
He said: "There is no record of Adam Werritty working in the Parliamentary office that year. We will urgently be seeking details from Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority to see if this is a legacy payment to HMRC from an internship years before or an accounting error."
The Times claimed Mr Werritty had a reputation among lobbyists as the "go-to guy" for gaining access to the Defence Secretary. It also suggested he was not registered as a member of Dr Fox's Westminster office, despite running a charity from it, which would break Commons rules.