Minister lets US ‘mole’ roam MoD
Defence secretary Liam Fox is under attack for taking on a man with links to US intelligence as a special adviser
Luke Coffey - US advisor to Defence Secretary Liam Fox
LIAM FOX, the defence secretary, is facing questions after installing an American aide with links to US intelligence services in the heart of the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
MPs have raised concerns about Luke Coffey, a former US army captain, who has been appointed to a highly sensitive role as Fox’s special adviser. He has not yet been given full security clearance.
Coffey set up the London chapter of an American think tank, many of whose members have backgrounds in the CIA and other American military defence intelligence agencies.
Fox, who has strong links with Washington through his Atlantic Bridge charity, has defended Coffey’s appointment and dismissed concerns of spying. He has highlighted the importance of the so-called “special relationship” between Britain and America, saying: “It’s not as if he is Russian.”
A number of MPs have warned that the access to confidential briefings and paperwork Coffey will enjoy as one of Fox’s closest aides could create a serious conflict of interest.
There is particular concern about his role in the forthcoming strategic defence review. Central to the review will be Britain’s relationship with America and the future of defence procurement programmes. Critics already accuse Fox of being biased towards purchasing cheaper military equipment from America in favour of supplies from the UK defence industry.
Michael Dugher, the Labour MP who once worked as a special adviser in the MoD, said: “This raises serious questions. At a time when the MoD is undertaking a sensitive defence review, vital to British national interests, is it really appropriate to have a foreign national and a former member of the US military employed by the taxpayer as a special adviser to the British secretary of state?
“It will only fuel fears that Liam Fox plans to tear up important contracts with UK-based suppliers — supporting thousands of British jobs — in favour of buying ‘off the shelf’ from the Americans.”
Coffey has a masters degree in European politics from the London School of Economics. He arrived in Britain in 2006 and began working for Mark Harper, the Tory MP, before applying to work in Fox’s office.
He runs the London branch of an organisation called Censa (Council for Emerging National Security Affairs), whose mission is to “shape US national security policy” and to “become the premier venue for virtual collaboration in addressing national security affairs and policy renewals”.
About a quarter of the members listed on its website have a background in intelligence. They include Matthew Thompson, a former CIA analyst in the Directorate of Intelligence; Jeff Benson, who worked in the US Office of Naval Intelligence; Sean Bielat, who serves in the United States Marine Corps Reserve as an intelligence watch officer; and Paul Crespo, who served as a defence and naval attaché at American embassies in the Balkans, the Gulf and Latin America. Coffey was encouraged to establish a London chapter by one of his former army commanders.
Although the special adviser has been issued with a pass giving him access to all areas of the MoD, he has not yet been “defence vetted”. Only a handful of special advisers in the most sensitive departments, such as No 10 and the Foreign Office, undergo this process.
It is understood that the security clearance process, which can take several months, has been delayed because of Coffey’s nationality. MoD sources say that until he has been cleared he will be working on a restricted computer and will not be allowed into the most confidential meetings.
Since Fox became defence secretary there have been two highly sensitive briefings — on special forces and Britain’s nuclear deterrent — which Coffey was not allowed to attend.
However, Whitehall insiders say he will still have ready access to highly confidential documents relating to security and commercial contracts.
Based on the sixth floor of the MoD, an enormous open plan office, he is likely to come across many documents stamped “UK eyes only” which are not intended to be seen by any foreign citizens.
A Whitehall source said: “In this job you have incredible access to sensitive material. The offices are open plan and every desk has confidential papers on it. Because of the layout of the office, you can’t help but see this stuff.”
As a member of the US armed forces, Coffey will have taken an oath of allegiance to America, promising to defend the constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
However, he has told friends that his primary loyalty is now to Fox, for whom he has been working for several years. He works alongside another special adviser who is British.
When Fox was shadow defence secretary, Coffey accompanied him on a number of overseas trips and travelled to Georgia without his boss.
Kevan Jones, the former armed forces minister, has tabled a parliamentary question about the nationality of the government’s special advisers. It was blocked by Francis Maude, the cabinet minister, on the grounds that the information was “personal”.
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