So why HAS Liam Fox been on holiday with male friend who cost him his job? In return to frontline politics, scandal-hit ex-Minister argues it's because they did nothing wrong in the first place Dr Fox's friendship with businessman Adam Werritty proved costly It led to spectacular tumble from Cabinet Minister to backbench MP Dr Fox and his wife took holiday this year with Mr Werritty and his girlfriend You don't abandon your friends just because it is convenient' said Dr Fox By Sarah Oliver Speaking out: With a new book out, Liam Fox MP has made an explosive return to frontline politics, hitting back at his critics and explaining how he thinks the Conservative Party should progress It's fitting perhaps that, as a former Secretary of State for Defence, Liam Fox should speak with passion about the martial qualities of loyalty and courage under fire - and of his respect for the kind of man willing to take flak on behalf of his mate. But his words are not about the Armed Forces he still champions. They are about his continuing friendship with businessman Adam Werritty which - two years ago - caused his spectacular tumble from Cabinet Minister to backbench MP. In October 2011, he admitted that, insofar as Mr Werritty was concerned, he had "mistakenly allowed" his personal and professional life to become "blurred." But while his reputation and his prospects were damaged, the relationship at the heart of the scandal was not. In fact, Dr Fox disclosed, speaking to The Mail on Sunday on the terrace of the House of Commons last week, that he and his wife Jesme enjoyed a "sun, beer, and sport" holiday in northern Spain earlier this year with Mr Werritty, his girlfriend, and six other friends. The party, which included children, stayed in a villa in Catalonia. Dr Fox said: "Life carries on - you don't abandon your friends or family just because it is convenient to do so. In terms of my close friends I value loyalty very, very highly, and there are few things I despise more than disloyalty. I thought he [Adam] took an absolutely ridiculous amount of flak and yet he never complained about it. It was the same with all my friends. No matter how intrusive, none ever complained. It is events like that in your life where you find out who are your true friends. It is amazing the number of people who lose your phone number - and the number who don't. It seems extraordinary that the friendship was not incinerated in the political firestorm of two years ago. Mr Werritty - who morphed from an intern in Dr Fox's political office in the late 1990s to his business associate, best man and even his lodger - was found to have been a regular visitor to the Ministry of Defence and to have accompanied the then Defence Secretary on 18 overseas visits. He handed out business cards adorned with the House of Commons portcullis crest and described himself as an "adviser" to Dr Fox. But it was subsequently shown he had no official role and was not security-cleared, bringing into question the Minister's judgment in the notoriously sensitive - and lucrative - world of defence contracting. So, I ask him, did he regret the actions that caused him to step down? "So much rubbish was written about arms dealing and secret services and all sorts of stuff . . ." he harrumphs. Then he tails off before continuing: "In retrospect, I would have drawn a much clearer line in my diary between what was private time and what was ministerial time. Controversial: Dr Fox is pictured marrying Dr Jesme Baird with Adam Werritty as best man. His friendship with the businessman caused his spectacular tumble from Cabinet Minister to backbench MP two years ago I regret it to the extent of its consequences but I am quite clear in my own mind I have not done anything wrong. My biggest regret is not being able to work with the Armed Forces. They are fighting words, and he's going to be needing them soon as he is bringing a complex and doubtless expensive libel action against Dubai-based entrepreneur Harvey Boulter. Mr Boulter was a key player in the drama, one of the super-rich, well- connected businessmen who understood Mr Werritty to be an official adviser, as opposed to a friend and helpmeet of Dr Fox. It's an action many have counselled him against - but he is determined, even if it obliges him to revisit what must have been one of the saddest and most difficult times of his life. Mr Boulter accused me of behaving in a way that is both dishonest and unethical, and I cannot allow matters to rest. I want the truth to be told. If I don't, then what I regard as a false version of events will stay on the record. And I am not willing to have what I regard as an untruth left there. "A lot of people told me "Don't take legal action,"" but I think the political class gets pushed around far too much and there comes a point where you say I am not willing to have my name and reputation treated like this." His wife Dr Jesme Baird, a cancer specialist who currently works for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, was not among the naysayers. She has been fantastic all through this. She is very, very supportive saying do whatever you think is necessary. The couple did not discuss the case at length, Dr Fox claims, although he did warn her that they could lose everything if it went badly against them. But he sweeps aside any talk they are now playing for high stakes. Problems: Dr Fox admitted when speaking about Mr Werritty that he had 'mistakenly allowed' his personal and professional life to become 'blurred'. Dr Fox is pictured on his wedding day with Mr Werritty, who was his best man The fact that we are both medical people helps. If there is one thing which gives you a sense of perspective, it is medicine. People write unpleasant things and it is nasty and it is an irritation but it is not a crisis. A baby being born with a cord around its neck, that's a crisis, believe me. This reference to his previous career - he is a qualified obstetrician - pops up in odd places as he chats about his new book, Rising Tides, which is to be published next month. He uses medicine as metaphor and analogy in relation to his thinking about globalisation but it's also a sideswipe at the three party leaders - Cameron, Clegg and Miliband - whose careers have all been contained within the precincts of the Westminster Village. But back to Jesme, whose wedding photo stands, perhaps a little incongruously, on the shelves where he keeps his war books. "She's just replaced our wedding picture at home, one of she and I, with one of me, her and Mrs Thatcher," he chortles. He's still not wearing a wedding ring, having lost his on a ski holiday two years ago. He used to keep his hand covered when his picture was taken but now he's given up. "I am always being nagged about it," he admits. But I hate jewellery. I wear as thin a watch as it is possible to buy. Later he chats about her work and corrects me about how they met - she was in his sister's year at university, they were already long-time sweethearts when they married at Christmas 2005. It's ordinary and domestic and cosy but it's not going to be easy for her, either, to have the whole Werritty affair dredged up again. That said, for a Defence Secretary who busted himself down the ranks - and is still no more than a constituency MP, despite a swirl of rumour and gossip about his re-entry into government - Dr Fox is in remarkably spirited form. I meet him in his Commons office with his wines (middle-of-the-road European and New World reds), his whisky, his books and photographs, trinkets and souvenirs of political glory all open to scrutiny. Alongside the war stories - his favourite is The Great Game, by Peter Hopkirk - and Westminster memoirs are novels by Robert Harris and Sebastian Faulks and books on art, one of his passions. He favours Van Gogh, whose palette of yellows bring pictures alive for a man who is colour-blind to red and green. If he had to rescue one thing from a fire, it would be, apparently, the folded Stars and Stripes that was flying in America when he made his debut there as Defence Secretary. It's comfortable and hospitable, the kind of place where tea - he likes his green - is served in a mug rather than a House of Commons china cup and where he often hears the clatter and laughter of the Speaker's three children whose apartment home is next door. Its space and river view make it insanely covetable, something I suspect pleases him a lot. At the leaded window that opens out on to the Thames, the water is unusually high and looks as if it's lapping almost to the sill. It's a very appropriate day to speak to him about Rising Tides. The book is a broad examination of the issues that, in his words, keep world leaders awake at 4am: globalisation, trans-national terror, failed states, debt and the likelihood of the world running out of food, water and fuel. Ambitious: Dr Fox is pictured at his office in the House of Commons last month. He is naturally unhappy at the possibility of the Coalition staggering on beyond 2015 It's heavy on historical context but light on credo, preferring to speak in the voices of some of the power-mongers Dr Fox met in office - such as former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. It is accessible and thoughtful and, while it took him a mere half a year to write, it is the distillation of his learning from two decades in politics. It's also faintly alarming, the kind of book that makes you wonder if the off-gridders have a point. "Well," he says, flatly, "politicians should be honest with people and there are seriously bad things out there - but there are also problems we can solve if we understand how they come about and see them in a historical and cultural context. We in the UK are consumed, I think, with internal social issues at a time when we need to lift up our eyes to a greater horizon and recognise the huge changes and challenges we face. That is not to say appropriate parts of government are not doing that, but the political class as a whole is not doing it. So it's a Fox manifesto of sorts. Does he still hanker after the leadership for which he challenged David Cameron in 2005? "It doesn't have the attraction it once had," he responds. It is not an unequivocal "No" but he's sensible enough to see that even if Mr Cameron fell under a bus today, he's yesterday's candidate, not tomorrow's. New: Dr Fox's book, Rising Tides: Facing The Challenges Of A New Era, is published next month What does he want to do next? He offers the classic politician's answer: "I am happy to play a role the PM thinks would help us win an overall majority." As one of the figures around which the Conservative Right coalesces, he is naturally unhappy at the possibility of the Coalition staggering on beyond 2015. I want to see a majority Conservative Government and see us freed from the chains of Coalition. A majority Government can be achieved by us arguing for the things we believe in. It is very difficult to give a clear philosophical identity when you are in Coalition. To his credit, David Cameron has been a really skilled manager of a Coalition Government, but we are now reaching the point where we have to reassert our separateness, our identity, in the run up to the next Election. Here comes another sideswipe: "We need to convince people we have a broad base as a party." He's too silken to add "and not just exist for the establishment elite." He says: "We need to get our message across to many of our natural supporters who have not necessarily been with us in recent years; talk not just to London metropolitan voters but to the great northern cities and blue-collar workers up and down the land. From my own background, I went to the country's biggest comprehensive school [St Bride's in East Kilbride] and my parents were not wealthy, the values which made me join the party are still there but we need to talk about them more. If the Tory Party is not a meritocratic party, then it is nothing. 'It is colour-blind and gender blind and blind to religion - it says if you believe what we believe, you are one of us, and we don't care what your parents did, or about the colour of your skin or what regional accent you have. He wants a party with room for all in it, even fallen former Cabinet Ministers - especially those who might be about to clamber back up. And he's definitely not scared of heights - this is a man who once wing-walked on a flying circus Tiger Moth to celebrate the opening of a pier in his constituency. He says the past two years have made him "a wiser" man, adding: "There is a life outside politics. I am much more circumspect and relaxed than I was, a lot more thoughtful and it is about having time. There is a real danger with our politicians they are all output and no input. It would be wise for them, rather than measuring their career success in how many consecutive years they have spent on the front benches, to take breaks to refresh themselves. Which, when you read it, does sound rather like a job application. At the very outset of his interview, talking about globalisation - the dominant subject of Rising Tides - Dr Fox said: "As in all our own private lives and professional lives and family lives, actions have consequences and, in a much more interconnected world, our actions have much quicker consequences." It's safe to assume that if he does attempt political reincarnation, they're words he'll take to heart next time. Rising Tides: Facing The Challenges Of A New Era is published by Heron Books at £20.