'Mystery donors' funded Adam Werritty's lifestyle

A former girlfriend of Adam Werritty has described how he relied on mysterious "donors" to maintain his work and lifestyle.

The disclosure follows the Evening Standard's analysis that Mr Werritty was spending up to £85,000 a year on travel to foreign cities where he met Defence Secretary Liam Fox.

The woman said she was told that Mr Werritty was a "political lobbyist" - a person whose job is to influence decision makers.

"He gave the impression that he was an independent lobbyist," she said, speaking anonymously to the Daily Telegraph. She went out with Mr Werritty for four months this year and was the "girlfriend" referred to by Dr Fox as being present at a meeting in Dubai.

Her belief was that his funding came from Conservative donors. "He always used to talk about, never naming them, but 'we're just waiting on some funding from a donor', and that sort of thing. It would be sort of slipped into conversation."

One of those donors was Michael Hintze, the founder of the CQS hedge fund and one of Australia's richest men, who allowed Mr Werritty to use a desk at his London offices. The tycoon supplied a private jet for Dr Fox and Mr Werritty to fly home from the United States in May.

He has given the Conservative Party and individual MPs a total of almost £1,437,830 over the past decade. He reportedly donated more than £100,000 over four years to The Atlantic Bridge, the charity and think tank founded by Dr Fox and run by Mr Werritty until the Charity Commission ordered it be wound up.

However, mystery still surrounds the identity of the other donors and whether they received any benefit for their gifts.

The woman said Mr Werritty is an "honourable" man who would never seek personal profit from his relationship with Dr Fox.