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3) THE LOBBYING OPERATION
Chronology
1985
115. On 30 October 1985,
Mr Greer told Mr Al Fayed that he had seen Mr Michael Palmer (a
partner in the firm of solicitors[40]
acting for the Al Fayeds in relation to certain aspects of the
dispute with Lonrho) and "taken a briefing from him."
He had also spoken to Mr Hamilton, who by that stage had
become a Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party Trade and Industry
Committee and who had "agreed to table a question" drafted
for him by Mr Palmer and Mr Greer. Mr Greer emphasised the need
for "good backbench pressure on Ministers on this issue"
and indicated that he proposed to embark "on a carefully
prepared programme of meetings with Ministers and senior backbenchers."
116. Having met Mr Greer
to discuss the campaign, Mr Hamilton in fact tabled two
questions, both concerning the transfer of The Observer
to Lonrho.
117. On 7 November 1985,
Mr Greer wrote to Mr Malone, who was at that time PPS to
the then Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Mr Leon Brittan,
inviting him to meet Mr Al Fayed. The following day, Mr Greer
sent a letter to Mr Al Fayed informing him that Sir Michael
Grylls,[41]
who was Chairman of the backbench Committee, had joined the team
and was to be briefed "in the course of the next few days".
118. Over the following
six weeks, Mr Greer met Sir Peter Hordern and Sir Michael
Grylls twice each, as well as Mr Al Fayed's legal advisers.
1986
119. On 22 January 1986,
following a letter from Mr Al Fayed to a number of Members "carefully
selected" by IGA for their interest in the subject, Mr
Hamilton wrote for the first time to Mr Al Fayed to express
sympathy with him in the light of the allegations made against
him by Mr Rowland.
120. Anxious to reassure
Mr Al Fayed that this circular letter had produced more than general
expressions of concern or solidarity, Mr Greer declared that he
had "been very active amongst Members of Parliament".
And he added: "It is important for us to continue to work
on these Members. We want to build up in Parliament a group of
Fayed supporters so that as and when it is necessary for us to
defend our position or take an initiative they are there in place."
121. Also in January, Mr
Greer met Mr Tim Smith, the other Vice-Chairman of the
backbench Trade and Industry Committee, who agreed to speak to
his fellow officers about the Al Fayeds' case. In a letter to
Mr Smith, Mr Greer suggested that "the best plan would
be for the four of you [Mr Smith, Mr Hamilton, Sir Michael
Grylls and Sir Peter Hordern] to have a meeting with
[Mr Al Fayed] and then request a session with Paul Channon"
(the recently appointed Secretary of State). In the event Sir
Peter Hordern was not invited to the lunch with Mr Al Fayed.
122. After the lunch, Mr
Greer wrote to Mr Al Fayed saying he thought it had gone "very
well indeed" as there was now "an undertaking from Michael
Grylls and his colleagues to raise the problem with Paul Channon
and if they fail to make progress to look at the possibility of
an Adjournment Debate or tabling a Motion in the House."
Mr Greer added that he would "keep tabs on" the Members
concerned.
123. In a letter dated 16
April 1986, Mr Greer informed Mr Al Fayed that Mr Smith
had agreed to apply for an Adjournment Debate which "provides
us with a splendid opportunity to put on record the facts".
124. During the weeks either
side of that letter, Mr Greer held several meetings with Sir
Michael Grylls, at one of which Mr Smith and Mr Webb
were also present, to discuss, amongst other things, the content
of the proposed Adjournment Debate. This eventually took place
on 17 June 1986 and, afterwards, Mr Smith received a letter
from Mr Greer congratulating him on his "splendid" speech.
125. On 18 July 1986, Mr
Greer wrote to Sir Michael about a letter sent to the Secretary
of State by Sir Peter Hordern seeking an inquiry into allegations
against Lonrho contained in an article published in The Sunday
Times. Mr Greer told Sir Michael Grylls that Sir
Peter "would greatly welcome the backing of you and the
other officers of the Trade and Industry Committee, as would Mohamed".
126. In early August, at
Mr Greer's request, Mr Smith and Sir Michael made
representations to the Secretary of State seeking a reference
to the Office of Fair Trading of the proposal by Lonrho to increase
its holding in the Today newspaper. Sir Michael's
letter expressed concern on behalf of the backbench Trade and
Industry Committee. Mr Hamilton, replying to a direct
request from Mr Al Fayed to approach Mr Channon on the same matter,
expressed his regret that, despite "the greatest sympathy"
with Mr Al Fayed, he was unable to "do what you have asked
on this occasion" Mr Hamilton's letter gave no reasons
but stated that these had been conveyed separately to Ian Greer
Associates. (In fact, Mr Eddie Shah, the owner of Today,
was a constituent of Mr Hamilton's).
127. The remaining months
of 1986 saw meetings between Mr Greer and Sir Michael Grylls,
Mr Greer and Sir Andrew Bowden and Mr Greer and Mr Al Fayed.
During the same period, the campaign by Lonrho to secure an inquiry
into the Al Fayed's acquisition of House of Fraser had intensified.
1987
128. On 20 January 1987,
Mr Greer organised a lunch with Mr Al Fayed at Harrods to which
were invited Sir Michael Grylls, Mr Smith and Sir Peter Hordern,
together with the PPS's to Mr Channon and Mr Michael Howard, the
then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Corporate and
Consumer Affairs.
129. By early February,
it was clear that active consideration was being given by the
DTI to some form of inquiry into the Al Fayeds' take-over of House
of Fraser. On the 5th of that month, Mr Greer reported to Mr
Al Fayed on a meeting he had held with Mr Smith the previous
day. Mr Smith was described as "extremely sympathetic
to you and your position" and ready to "do everything
he can to help". To that end, he had asked for Parliamentary
questions to be drafted for his consideration. Mr Greer went
on to say that he thought it unlikely, however, that Mr Smith
would "accept the position of paid adviser to the House of
Fraser before the General Election is over".
130. In a fax to Mr Al Fayed
dated 9 February 1987, Mr Greer announced the arrival on the scene
of Sir Andrew Bowden with the words: "At last we have
a campaigner!". And he concluded: "I have known Andrew
for 20 years and we can depend on him. He is without doubt the
right person: we can use Tim Smith in other ways".
131. On 16 February 1987,
Sir Andrew telephoned Mr Al Fayed to request that the introductory
meeting scheduled for two days later should be attended only by
himself, Mr Al Fayed and Mr Greer, and that there should be "no
lawyers".
132. During February and
March, Mr Hamilton tabled two priority written questions
to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry about Lonrho
and an Early Day Motion, drafted for him by Mr Greer and Mr Palmer,
condemning attacks made by other Members on Harrods' industrial
relations procedures.
133. Other action taken
by the group during March included:
- a
series of questions from Mr Smith to the Attorney General
and the Secretary of State;
- a
delegation to the Secretary of State, led by Sir Peter Hordern,
accompanied by Sir Michael Grylls and Mr Smith;
- a
letter to the Secretary of State from Sir Andrew Bowden urging
an investigation into various matters relating to Lonrho's business
conduct. (In his opening paragraph, Sir Andrew claimed
that the reason for his approach was a letter he had received
from a constituent who had previously been employed "in a
senior executive position by Lonrho". This was a reference
to a Mr Michael Land, whom Sir Andrew had introduced to
Mr Al Fayed's legal adviser as a potentially useful source of
information about Mr Rowland and Lonrho);
- four
questions by Sir Andrew to the Secretary of State and the
Home Secretary.
134. In a letter to Mr
Smith suggesting a meeting to brief him "on the strategy
... we are now trying to employ", Mr Greer declared: "Andrew
Bowden has now become involved with Mohamed - the more the merrier!"
At the same time Sir Andrew wrote to the Home Secretary
to raise the case of a former officer in the Fraud Squad who had
left the police force to become head of security at Lonrho.
135. A meeting was arranged
by Mr Greer for 9 April "to talk about the current Lonrho/House
of Fraser position". Those in attendance were Sir Michael
Grylls, Mr Hamilton, Mr Smith, Sir Andrew Bowden, Mr Webb
and Mr Greer. As it transpired, that day saw the announcement
by the Secretary of State of his decision to appoint Inspectors
to investigate the House of Fraser take-over.
136. One of the repercussions
of this development was the cancellation of the proposed visit
by several Members to Paris, including a stay at the Ritz, invitations
for which had been issued a week earlier.[42]
The same day, Sir Andrew received answers to two of his
questions about newspaper take-overs and mergers and followed
up with a further question on the same subject.
137. Also in April, Sir
Peter Hordern drew to the attention of the Secretary of State
an alleged conflict of interest, related to Lonrho, on the part
of one of the two Inspectors[43]
appointed to examine the acquisition of House of Fraser by the
Al Fayeds; and Mr Smith tabled three questions to the Secretary
of State about the circumstances surrounding the decision to appoint
Inspectors.
138. On 13 May, Sir Peter
Hordern led a delegation consisting of Sir Michael Grylls,
Mr Smith and Mr Hamilton, to the Secretary of State.
They argued that further details should be given to the Al Fayeds
about the reasons for establishing the inquiry and the information
which had influenced the decision. They also pressed for an investigation
into the outstanding allegations against Lonrho. In the official
note on the meeting, the Secretary of State is recorded as saying
that it "was very unusual to hold a meeting of this kind".
Mr Channon also told the delegation that the Inspector in relation
to whom a possible conflict of interest had been alleged had resigned.
In a fax to Mr Al Fayed after the meeting Mr Greer said: "Delighted
to hear the news about Heslop, well done."
139. Some of the points
raised during the meeting were pursued by Sir Peter Hordern
in a letter to the Secretary of State which was copied to Mr
Smith. Mr Smith also wrote to the Secretary of State
on his own behalf.
140. At the end of June,
Mr Greer confirmed that a meeting with Mr Al Fayed had been arranged
for 13 July at 60 Park Lane, to be attended by Sir Michael
Grylls, Mr Smith, Sir Peter Hordern, Mr Hamilton and Sir
Andrew Bowden. On 9 July, Mr Greer sent a note to Mr Hamilton,
Sir Peter, Sir Michael and Mr Smith beginning: "Andrew
Bowden has asked me to drop you a line". Mr Greer added
that both he and Sir Andrew felt that a separate meeting
before the Summer recess would be a useful opportunity for the
Members to be briefed on the latest position regarding the House
of Fraser and Lonrho.
141. The meeting took place
on 15 July at Harrods, when it was agreed that a delegation should
go to see the new Secretary of State, Lord Young.
142. On 23 July, Mr Hamilton
sent Mr Al Fayed a copy of a letter he had written to the Chairman
of the Stock Exchange about the annual report and accounts of
Lonrho. In his letter to Mr Al Fayed Mr Hamilton explained
that he had now been elected Secretary of the Conservative backbench
Finance Committee and Vice-Chairman of the backbench Trade and
Industry Committee, which, as he put it, "gives me a better
position from which to act on your behalf", adding: "Previously,
as a PPS, it was less easy". Mr Hamilton concluded
by saying that he would shortly be writing to Mr Francis Maude,
the new junior Minister at the DTI.
143. At the meeting with
the Secretary of State on 29 July, attended by Sir Peter Hordern,
Mr Hamilton and Mr Smith, further strong representations
were made on behalf of the Al Fayeds, particularly with regard
to the need to expedite the Inspectors' inquiry, whilst the Department
was again pressed to initiate a formal investigation of Lonrho's
affairs.
144. After the House had
returned from the 1987 Summer recess, Mr Smith asked a
series of six questions to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster,[44]
about various matters relating to Lonrho.
145. On 12 November, Mr
Greer wrote to Mr Al Fayed to say that he was planning to speak
to Mr Smith the following week and would arrange for "a
meeting of our group" with Royston Webb immediately afterwards.
And he added: "I believe now is the time for a delegation
to go and see Lord Young. I will try and see that they do this
the first week in December".
146. In a letter to the
Secretary of State dated 18 November, copied to Sir Michael
Grylls, Mr Smith and Mr Hamilton, Sir Peter Hordern
complained about what he understood to be the decision by the
Inspectors "to prolong their investigations, at the behest
of Lonrho, for a further two months". He concluded: "We
should like to come and see you soon, to express our concern in
person". Sir Peter's representations were reinforced
by a separate letter to Lord Young from Mr Hamilton in
which he strongly criticised the conduct of the inquiry by the
Inspectors, at one point referring to the "creation of a
20th century Spanish Inquisition". Mr Smith then
wrote in a similar vein.
147. On 10 December,
Mr Hamilton wrote to Mr Al Fayed apologising for his inability,
owing to a clash with the Treasury and Civil Service Select Committee,
to attend the meeting with Lord Young that had been arranged for
14 December. He assured Mr Al Fayed, however, that he had written
to Lord Young, who was "well aware of my views".
148. At the meeting with
the Secretary of State, Sir Peter Hordern, Sir Michael Grylls
and Mr Smith took the opportunity to question Lonrho's
alleged manipulation of the Inspectors' inquiry, as well as the
Department's decision not to instigate a separate investigation
into the affairs of Blorg and Contango, two Lonrho subsidiaries.
149. The same day, Mr
Smith sent a letter to Mr Maude, the Parliamentary Under Secretary
of State for Corporate and Consumer Affairs, enclosing a list
of Lonrho companies whose accounting practices allegedly failed
to comply with the relevant Companies Act provisions, and requesting
an investigation and report on each.
1988
150. On the day the House
returned following the Christmas recess, Mr Greer wrote to Mr
Al Fayed to explain that his main concerns for the New Year were
twofold: "to keep the group together", for which purpose
an early meeting would serve best, and "to keep pressure
on Tim [Smith] for an Adjournment Debate". This could
be "a major step forward" because, according to Mr Greer,
Mr Smith was "prepared to say many things about Rowland
that have never been said before, with the protection of Parliamentary
privilege". Mr Greer closed with an assurance to Mr Al Fayed:
"I will keep close to him" [Mr Smith].
151. On 28 January 1988,
Mr Hamilton wrote two letters. The first was to Lord Young
expressing disappointment at the DTI's decision not to set up
an inquiry into allegations involving a number of Lonrho companies
and urging the Secretary of State to "act swiftly" to
examine relevant files, including a dossier of evidence alleging
fraud supplied separately by Sir Peter Hordern. The second
letter, to Mr Al Fayed, conveyed Mr Hamilton's concern
that after nine months there was still no indication as to when
the Inspectors would report and promising, once the inquiry was
completed, to "raise in the House of Commons the propriety
of such investigations". In a note the following day Mr
Greer thanked Mr Hamilton for copies of the two letters,
adding "I think they are excellent. Well done!".
152. Mr Greer also wrote
to Mr Smith, indicating that, at a meeting the previous
day, Mr Webb[45]
had advised against the holding of an Adjournment Debate "at
the present time, if at all".
153. On 5 February, Mr
Smith sent Lord Young some papers which, he said, appeared
"to relate to recent dealings by Lonrho in emeralds".
He asked Lord Young to let him know how Fraud Squad inquiries
into related matters were proceeding and this request was followed
up with six written questions (some on separate but cognate matters).
154. Also in February,
Sir Peter Hordern wrote to Lord Young repeating many of
the previously stated concerns about the conduct of the Inspectors'
inquiry and making a strong personal attack on Lonrho's and Mr
Rowland's integrity.
155. A month later Mr Greer
copied to Mr Hamilton, Sir Peter Hordern, Sir Michael Grylls
and Mr Smith a draft letter to Sir Edward du Cann,
the chairman of Lonrho, and to the company secretary, in connection
with Lonrho's impending annual general meeting. At the same time
Mr Greer suggested that "it would be useful if we could have
a meeting on Tuesday 29 March to see what further representations
it may be appropriate to make in the wake of the [Lonrho] AGM".
Mr Greer also confirmed to Mr Al Fayed that copies of the draft
letter had been "hand-delivered to our four Members in the
House".
156. During the latter part
of May and early June, four further questions were tabled - two
each by Mr Smith and Mr Hamilton. One of these
questions, from Mr Smith, related to the progress of the
police investigation into the Blorg and Contango affair, whilst
the other three were concerned with the cost and duration of the
Inspectors' inquiry into House of Fraser.
157. On 12 July, Mr Greer
faxed a message to Mr Al Fayed telling him: "Have seen Neil
and others. Expect Motion to go down tonight. Am drafting series
of questions to be put to Trade and Industry next week and a further
very strong anti-Rowland motion before Parliament rises for the
summer ... We have got them on the move!".
158. On the same day, Mr
Hamilton tabled an Early Day Motion condemning "the continuing
barrage of libellous and vicious propaganda" being sent to
Members by Mr Rowland and requesting the Secretary of State to
"call upon his Inspectors" to complete their inquiry
"without further delay". For his part, Mr Smith
tabled four questions about Lonrho-related issues.
159. The Inspectors' report
was handed to the Secretary of State on 23 July 1988. Five days
later, Sir Michael Grylls wrote to Lord Young to express
serious misgivings on behalf of Mr Al Fayed about alleged deficiencies
in the way the Inspectors had brought the inquiry to a conclusion.
160. On 29 July Mr Greer
faxed a message to Mr Al Fayed to say that he had spoken to Mr
Hamilton, who would be sending a hand-delivered letter to
the Secretary of State. Mr Greer went on: "We have agreed
the text of the letter and it is strong. Neil Hamilton available
for delegation to Lord Young next Wednesday/Thursday". This
robustly worded letter, sent by Mr Hamilton the same day,
called for a full investigation into the conduct of the Inspectors'
inquiry.
161. A further fax, dated
10 August, was sent by Mr Greer to Mr Al Fayed in which he stated:
"I have spoken to Tim Smith, who has agreed to write a letter
along the lines we wish". The message ended with an assurance
to Mr Al Fayed that he and the relevant Members would meet again
at the end of the month to assess the position.
162. Also in August Sir
Peter Hordern and Mr Smith wrote to Lord Young raising
strong doubts about the fairness of the Inspectors' inquiry, and
the alleged role played in it by Lonrho. Mr Greer congratulated
Mr Smith on his "quite splendid" letter, adding
that Royston Webb was "very thrilled with it".
163. On 28 September, Mohamed
and Ali Fayed, accompanied by Sir Peter Hordern and legal
advisers to House of Fraser, met Lord Young, who undertook to
give 72 hours' notice of his intention to publish the Inspectors'
report, as soon as he was in a position to do so. Mr Smith
followed up with three further questions about the Inspectors'
report and its possible consequences.
1989
164. In January 1989, Sir
Peter Hordern wrote to Lord Young urging him to take into
account the potentially damaging effect on the national interest,
notably in terms of trade with the Middle East, of reproducing
in the Inspectors' report allegations made by Lonrho against the
Al Fayeds; and he asked the Secretary of State to give consideration
to a partial publication of the findings.
165. During oral questions
to the Attorney General on 23 January, Mr Smith asked a
supplementary question on the subject of a recently published
book by Mr Rowland about the Al Fayeds, entitled "A Hero
from Zero". Mr Smith's question concluded with the
ironic suggestion that the book be recommended for the Booker
prize for fiction.
166. Five days later Mr
Smith received an open letter from Mr Rowland attacking his
criticism of "A Hero from Zero" and implying that he
(Mr Smith) was being paid for acting on behalf of Mr Al
Fayed.
167. In an intervention
during oral questions to the Department of Trade and Industry
on 15 February, Mr Hamilton described an Observer
journalist as an "embittered left-wing propagandist employed
by Mr Tiny Rowland".
168. The following month
Mr Hamilton sent letters to the Home Secretary[46]
and the Secretary of State for Defence expressing concern about
the security implications of alleged links between Mr Rowland
and the Libyan regime. These letters had been prepared in draft
by Mr Webb and sent to Mr Greer for typing onto Mr Hamilton's
personalised House of Commons notepaper. The draft letter to
the Home Secretary was headed: "Not to be released under
any circumstances without the permission of Ian Greer".
169. On 29 March, Mr Greer
faxed a message from Cannes to Mr Al Fayed to tell him: "Agreed
with Neil Hamilton four questions which have now been sent to
Brian [Basham][47]
for use in tomorrow's press. Believe it will be possible to put
more questions down next week". Subsequently, four questions,
raising various matters relating either to Lonrho or one of Mr
Rowland's business associates, were tabled by Mr Hamilton
on 4 April.
170. Also in April Mr
Hamilton wrote to the Minister of State at the DTI enclosing
copies of his recent letters to the Home Secretary and the Secretary
of State for Defence and seeking comments on the reply from the
former.
171. On 3 May Mr Hamilton
tabled an Early Day Motion, drafted by Mr Greer and shown in advance
to Mr Al Fayed and Mr Webb, drawing attention to the alleged links
between a Lonrho subsidiary and the Libyan authorities.
172. In a letter dated 3
October 1989 to Mr Al Fayed, Mr Webb confirmed that the arrangement
whereby Mr Greer was paid a monthly retainer "as our Parliamentary
consultant" would come to an end on 30 November.
1990
173. The Inspectors' report,
unauthorised extracts from which had appeared in a special mid-week
edition of the Observer in March 1989, was formally published
on 7 March 1990.
The Composition
of the Group
174. The list of activities
undertaken by the group is by no means an exhaustive one. Diary
entries and other sources indicate that there were many other
meetings, involving Mr Greer, Mr Al Fayed and the Members concerned,
or combinations of them.
175. Throughout the period
when the campaign on behalf of the Al Fayeds was being organised
by Mr Greer, the core lobbying group of Members consisted of Sir
Michael Grylls, Mr Hamilton and Mr Smith (officers
of the Conservative backbench Trade and Industry Committee),[48]
supplemented at a later stage, and for a shorter period, by Sir
Andrew Bowden. Sir Peter Hordern appears to have played
a less central role. Although, as the consultant at House of
Fraser, he led the various delegations to Ministers, he was not
as closely involved as the other Members in the day to day running
of the campaign and frequently was not party to the detailed arrangements
made by Mr Greer. This perception of Sir Peter as somewhat
detached from the Greer-inspired lobbying operation was confirmed
in oral evidence not only by Sir Peter himself but also
by others of the Members concerned, and by Mr Greer.
40 Palmer
Cowden. Back
41 Then
Mr Michael Grylls. Back
42 See
para 546. Back
43 Mr
Philip Heslop QC. Back
44 The
Minister answering questions in the House of Commons on behalf
of Lord Young, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. Back
45 See
para 113. Back
46 Some
uncertainty has arisen as to whether this letter was in fact sent
to the Home Secretary; however, it was copied, without amendment,
by Mr Hamilton to the Secretary of State for Defence and
other Ministers (see paras 400 to 402). Back
47 Public
relations adviser to the Al Fayeds. Back
48 There
was a period during late 1986 and early 1987 when, having been
appointed a PPS, Mr Hamilton was not an officer of the
Committee. Back
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