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      Earlier this year, Mr Greer told a Central TV team: "We would never go out and say we can arrange to have a question tabled, but actually we can²⁰".  Mr Al-Fayed has long since severed relations with Ian Greer Associates²¹ and no longer employs any parliamentary lobbyists.  Mr Hamilton is MP for Tatton.  Mr Smith is MP for Beaconsfield.  The records show that he asked a succession of questions on the Al-Fayeds' behalf, ceasing in January 1989 when Tiny Rowland circulated an open letter denouncing his support of the Al-Fayeds²².  The Guardian has traced 22 questions asked in the Al-Fayed interest by the two MPs²³.
      Documentary evidence shows that Mr Hamilton devoted many hours to pursuing Lonrho issues on Mr Al-Fayed's behalf -- after he had requested his free stay at the Ritz²⁴.  The letters also reveal how closely he was working with Mr Greer, the lobbyist in receipt of the large retainer for the campaign.  The first involves a private letter written on January 28, 1988, to Mohamed Al-Fayed at his Park Lane address, enclosing a letter he had sent to Lord Young, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, concerning the House of Fraser inquiry.
      The letter to Lord Young talks of "a collection of papers which prima facie provide evidence of Lonrho's failure to disclose to its shareholders certain dealings in emeralds."  He wrote to Lord Young: "You will know that the fraud squad has not lost interest on these matters. It is difficult for some of us to understand why the DTI seems to be less vigorous in its desire to get at the truth.  Rowland and Lonrho were long ago described as the 'unacceptable face of capitalism.' The record gets worse with the years and still nothing is done about their breaches of company law²⁵."
      In his private letter to Mr Fayed, expressing his sympathy for the case, he said: "Everyone knows the Al-Fayeds to be amongst the world's most significant businessmen²⁶. I have no doubt that, were it not for the paranoid and personal vendetta pursued by Tiny Rowland, you would not now be enduring the indignity of this inquiry²⁷.  "Having myself suffered invasions of privacy and campaigns of lies in my successful battle with the BBC in 1984/86, I have the greatest possible sympathy for you."
      Five months later, on May 27, a fax  from Patrick Ferreira, one of Ian Greer's senior aides, enclosed priority written questions tabled by Mr Hamilton for answer on June 7 on the DTI House of Fraser report.  Then on September 1, 1988, Mr Hamilton wrote to Mr Fayed:  "I am glad to learn from Ian Greer that meetings are taking place with the DTI concerning the inspector's report and I very much hope that this matter will not drag on for much longer.  Perhaps it might be useful if the three of us get together shortly²⁸".
      The following March there were further exchanges. On March 12, Mr Hamilton wrote enthusiastically to Mohamed Al-Fayed praising him for taking a firm line against Lonrho.  Then, nine days later, a letter was prepared by Mr Hamilton to be sent to Douglas Hurd, calling for an investigation into Ahmed Gadafsdam, a board member of the aircraft cargo firm, Tradewinds, a Lonrho subsidiary, and his alleged connections with Colonel Gadafy, the Libyan dictator. The letter was marked "not to be released under any circumstances without the permission of Ian Greer²⁹."
      The most detailed connection between Mr Hamilton and Mr Greer is shown in two faxes from Mr Greer to Mr  Al-Fayed and his legal adviser on March 29 and April 4 1989.  In them it is made quite clear that the tabling of parliamentary questions by Mr Hamilton was being arranged by Mr Greer as part of his parliamentary services fee³⁰. "Tried to contact you earlier today without success. Spoke to Brian Basham's [City PR company] office last night and today.  Agreed with Neil Hamilton four questions (faxed to you earlier today) which have now been sent to Brian for use in tomorrow's press³⁰.  Believe it will be possible to put more questions down next week.  Suggest you mention that I will be in contact when you see Michael Grylls MP [the only MP who declares a link with Ian Greer Associates³¹] because I believe he would want to help.  Also believe letter possible from Neil to Chairman of CAA [Civil Aviation Authority] about Marwan flights and facilities³⁰."
      The other simply stated: "The following questions will appear in tomorrow's Order Paper."  Mr Greer said last night: "These allegations are wholly and totally untrue³²." Neither Mr Hamilton nor Mr Smith responded to an invitation to comment³³.  When a similar request was to put to them by the Guardian last year, both denied accepting money for their role in this affair³⁴.

Notes:

20. True. Greer's boast that he could arrange to have a question tabled by a sympathetic MP, is no more than any competent lobbyist would make in private.  The fact is, it's a lobbyist's job to identify MPs who have interests in issues shared with their clients - and the issue in this instance was a supposed $40 million foreign investment.  (In December 1982 Labour lobbyist Sir Trevor Lloyd-Hughes acknowledged openly to a Select Committee that he arranged for MPs to table questions, without there being any comment from The Guardian or any other paper.) [return to text]


21. This is false. Fayed did not break with Ian Greer Associates until shortly before the publication of the article. [return to text]


22. True. Significantly, despite knowing that Rowland's letter implied that Smith had been bribed by Fayed, Hamilton was not dissuaded from continuing his attacks against Rowland. [return to text]


23. This is inaccurate.  Tim Smith asked three oral questions and tabled 25 written questions.  Hamilton tabled only 9 written questions and never spoke on the Floor of the House in any matter concerning Fayed or Harrods. [return to text]


24. This is false.  Though Neil Hamilton might have sympathised with Fayed, his activity was lacklustre.  Following his stay at the Ritz in Sept 87 a further nine months passed before Hamilton tabled any questions.  This took place on June 1988, when Hamilton tabled two questions about the cost of the DTI investigation into Fayed's acquisition of House of Fraser.  Furthermore, Hamilton denies that he requested a free stay at the Ritz, but had instead taken up Fayed's invitation to visit the late Duke & Duchess of Windsors' Paris villa. [return to text]


25. True.  This correspondence underpins Hamilton's stated reasons for supporting Fayed in the first place: an antipathy towards Tiny Rowland, whose Observer newspaper ran a constant stream of anti-Conservative stories. [return to text]


26. True.  Thanks to the false stories about his family background that Fayed's PR firm had succeeded in having printed in British newspapers, at that time most Tory MPs believed Fayed's representation of himself as a philanthropic Anglophile entrepreneur - including Margaret Thatcher and most of the Tory Party hierarchy. [return to text]


27. True.  At that time most Tory MPs considered Tiny Rowland to be an enemy of the Conservative Party. [return to text]


28. True. As with note 24 above, this private correspondence between Hamilton and Fayed actually underpins Hamilton's stated reasons for supporting Fayed in the first place: a common antipathy towards Tiny Rowland. [return to text]


29. Hencke has referred to this letter once already (see note 7 earlier). [return to text]


30. True.  It is perfectly normal for lobbyists to draft letters and questions & motions for MPs to consider tabling. [return to text]


31. The reference that Hencke made in the square brackets about Sir Michael Grylls is significant.  Like other lobbyists, insurance agents, and other professionals, Ian Greer gave commissions to people who introduced new clients to his firm.  Sir Michael Grylls was known to be one of three MPs who had received commissions from Greer for introducing clients.  The Guardian believed that Hamilton & Smith were the other two MPs, and that Greer's commissions were actually bribes to reward the three MPs for supporting his clients in parliament. [return to text]


32. This is false.  Though Ian Greer would undoubtedly have denied paying MPs to table questions if that allegation had been put to him, no one from The Guardian did put that allegation to Greer prior to the article being published.  The Guardian invented Greer's denial to create the false impression that the paper had informed Greer about the imminent publication of the allegations and had given him an opportunity to respond. [return to text]


33. This is false.  The Guardian did not give Hamilton any notice of its article appearing, nor did The Guardian give Hamilton any inkling that any allegations against him were in the offing.  The only notice that Hamilton (and Greer and Smith) received was a vague fax late in the afternoon on the eve of the article's publication. [return to text]


34. Hamilton denies being asked about 'cash for questions' (whether from Greer or Fayed) during his 1993 interview.  Hamilton claims that Fayed most likely made this allegation prior to the publication of The Guardian's article in Oct 1994, when the Egyptian had hit the roof upon losing his appeal to the European Court of Human Rights to quash the DTI report that had frustrated his application for British nationality.  Hamilton claims that Fayed was angry because he hadn't used his ministerial position to help him get a British passport.  The evidence supporting Hamilton's contention is overwhelming, and shows that in 1993 Guardian journalists Hencke & Mullin did not ask him about 'cash for questions' but instead had focused on the Ritz and his relationship with Ian Greer. [return to text]

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