Boris aide asked police to talk to Liam Fox after flat burglary

Boris Johnson's office phoned Scotland Yard to suggest officers speak to Liam Fox after his home was burgled, it emerged today.

A member of the Mayor's staff contacted the Met after being phoned by an aide to Mr Fox, who was shadow defence secretary at the time. Mr Johnson's aides denied there had been any improper intervention by his office.

But MPs were stunned by the revelation. One said: "Why did he ring?"

Mr Johnson did not speak to Mr Fox about the incident despite the latter's office reportedly asking to talk to the Mayor. Meanwhile, one of the thieves who burgled Liam Fox's Bermondsey flat has claimed he saw him and a male house guest asleep in separate bedrooms that night.

Conservative officials had told journalists Dr Fox had been alone during the break-in, which took place on April 26 last year in the run-up to the general election. The Defence Secretary has denied suggestions he tried to cover up the fact he had a male friend staying while his wife was away on business.

He has refused to name the man who stayed over, but confirmed "for the sake of clarity" that it was not his friend and "adviser" Adam Werritty. Dr Fox insisted he told police at the time that he was not alone, and said he was "trying to establish" why journalists were given the wrong impression.

A laptop and mobile phone were stolen during the raid on the ground-floor flat. The thieves also tried to steal Dr Fox's Skoda, which they crashed almost immediately during their bungled attempt to escape.

Bakhari Diabate, then 17, admitted aggravated vehicle-taking after crashing the car. He said that the gang, which took knives from Dr Fox's kitchen in case of retaliation, had not realised the flat belonged to the MP. Diabate, who did not enter the property himself, told The Daily Telegraph: "They woke up in the morning and they were quite shocked who it was. They were a bit anxious."

Another gang member, who was never caught, said: "There were two people in the flat. We got in through the [patio] window. I saw the people, they were in their bedrooms. The guys were asleep."

Last night the Conservative Party accepted the blame for misleading journalists over the number of people present during the burglary, but said it was "the result of a genuine misunderstanding".

Today David Cameron denied he was dragging his feet on Dr Fox's future, saying he would be "a weak leader" if he rushed to a verdict before the facts were clear.

He said: "A strong leader actually recognises you have to take time to get all the information, answer all the questions, and then actually make a decision. A weak leader is someone who jumps at it because of some artificial deadline."

Labour leader Ed Miliband said Mr Cameron should get Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell's report "as quickly as possible and then make a judgment".