'Are we all bare-faced liars?' The question came from Jonathan Aitken, Minister of State for Defence Procurement, in January 1994. It was put to the then editor of the Guardian, Peter Preston. The words 'we all' referred to Aitken himself, his wife Lolicia and his faithful Arab friend Said Ayas. The answer to the question was 'yes'. They were all bare-faced liars, but none more so than the debonair minister himself. Why did he lie? Preston's question was trivial: who paid for Aitken's two nights at the Paris Ritz in September 1993? The truth was that the bill had been paid, via Said Ayas, by Prince Mohammed, heir to the throne of Saudi Arabia. There was nothing especially horrific about this. Aitken's association with the Saudi monarchy was well known. A couple of nights at the Ritz cost a thousand quid or so - a bagatelle in Aitken's world. True, he had not declared any such benefit in the MPs' Register of Interests, and the acceptance of Ayas's largesse conflicted with the Rules for Ministers - but this was a minor breach, easily dealt with by an admission and an apology.

LRB 1 January 1998 | PDF Download