Close friend of Tory worker seen outside bar (9)
I believe the answer is:
confidant
'close friend' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'tory worker seen outside bar' is the wordplay.
'tory' becomes 'con' (abbreviation for conservative).
'worker' becomes 'ant' (worker is a type of ant).
'seen outside' indicates putting letters inside.
'bar' becomes 'fid' (type of bar on a ship).
'con'+'ant'='conant'
'conant' placed around 'fid' is 'CONFIDANT'.
'of' is the link.
(Other definitions for confidant that I've seen before include "intimate" , "Close friend entrusted with secrets etc" , "Trusted friend" , "Sharer of secrets" .)