Tom Watson, Baron Watson of Wyre Forest explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Right Honourable
The Lord Watson of Wyre Forest
Office:Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
Leader:Jeremy Corbyn
Term Start:12 September 2015
Term End:12 December 2019
Predecessor:Harriet Harman
Successor:Angela Rayner
Office1:Minister of State for Digital Engagement and Civil Service Issues
Primeminister1:Gordon Brown
Term Start1:25 January 2008
Term End1:5 June 2009
Predecessor1:Gillian Merron
Successor1:Dawn Butler
Office2:Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Veterans
Primeminister2:Tony Blair
Term Start2:5 May 2006
Term End2:6 September 2006
Predecessor2:Don Touhig
Successor2:Derek Twigg
Office3:Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Status3:Life peerage
Term Start3:21 November 2022
Office4:Member of Parliament
for West Bromwich East
Term Start4:7 June 2001
Term End4:6 November 2019
Predecessor4:Peter Snape
Successor4:Nicola Richards
Embed:yes
Subterm:2007–2008
Suboffice:Assistant Whip
Subterm1:2005–2006
Suboffice1:Lord Commissioner
Subterm2:2004–2005
Suboffice2:Assistant Whip
Embed:yes
Subterm:2016–2019
Suboffice:Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Subterm1:2015–2017
Suboffice1:Party Chair
Subterm2:2015–2016
Suboffice2:Cabinet Office
Subterm3:2011–2013
Suboffice3:Deputy Party Chair
Subterm4:2011–2013
Suboffice4:National Campaign Coordinator
Birth Name:Thomas Anthony Watson
Birth Date:8 January 1967
Birth Place:Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Party:Labour
Children:2
Alma Mater:University of Hull
Signature:Tom Watson politician signature.svg

Thomas Anthony Watson, Baron Watson of Wyre Forest (born 8 January 1967) is a British politician who served as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2019. A member of the House of Lords since 2022, he was the member of Parliament (MP) for West Bromwich East from 2001 to 2019.

Born in Sheffield, Watson was raised in Kidderminster, where he was educated at King Charles I School. He first became involved in Labour Party and trade-union activism while studying at the University of Hull and was chair of the National Organisation of Labour Students from 1992 to 1993. After working in marketing and advertising, he began working full-time for the Labour Party, including on its 1997 general election campaign, and then for the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union.

Elected MP for West Bromwich East at the 2001 general election, Watson was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Veterans from May to September 2006 and Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office from 2008 to 2009. In October 2011, Ed Miliband appointed him as the Labour Party's national campaign coordinator and deputy chair. He resigned from both roles in July 2013, following a controversy over the selection of a new parliamentary candidate for Falkirk.

On 12 September 2015, Watson was elected as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party alongside the new leader, Jeremy Corbyn. Following the conviction of Carl Beech in July 2019 for making false allegations of paedophilia, Watson was criticised by high-profile victims and their relatives for his role in the affair, known as Operation Midland. Watson stood down as an MP in November 2019 and as deputy leader of the Labour Party in 2019, stating that his reasons for doing so were "personal, not political". He later admitted that he had voted for Owen Smith in the 2016 leadership election. In March 2020, he was appointed chair of UK Music and later that year was made a senior adviser on problem gambling to Flutter Entertainment.

Early life and career

Watson was born in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire, and educated at King Charles I School, Kidderminster, although he left before completing his A-Levels. At the age of 17, in 1984, he became a trainee library assistant at the Labour Party’s Walworth Road headquarters. He then worked as a marketing officer and advertising account executive.

He later studied as a mature student at the University of Hull, where he was active in the Hull University Labour Club and elected President of the Students' Union in 1992, although he did not complete his degree. He was chair of the National Organisation of Labour Students from 1992 to 1993.[1]

In 1993, he again worked for the Labour Party as National Development Officer for Youth and then worked on the party's 1997 general election campaign. He then left to become the National Political Officer of the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union.[2]

Early parliamentary career

Watson was elected MP for West Bromwich East at the 2001 general election. He served on the Home Affairs Select Committee from 2001 to 2003, and supported the committee's recommendation on UK drug policy to "initiate a discussion within the Commission on Narcotic Drugs of alternative ways – including the possibility of legalisation and regulation – to tackle the global drugs dilemma".[3] In his first year in parliament, he launched a campaign to ban album sales of convicted sex offender Gary Glitter.[4]

In 2002, Watson moved a Ten Minute Rule Bill to change organ donation laws.[5] Later that year, he was a leading candidate for the chair of the Labour Friends of Israel alongside Stephen Byers.[6]

In 2003, Watson voted in favour of going to war with Iraq,[7] [8] and subsequently voted consistently against an investigation into the war.[9]

In 2004 he won the New Statesman New Media Award in the category of elected representative for being one of the first MPs to use his blog to further the democratic process.[10]

Watson was campaign chair for Labour in the Birmingham Hodge Hill by-election in July 2004. The campaign drew criticism for its dirty tactics, particularly a Labour leaflet proclaiming "Labour is on your side – the Lib Dems are on the side of failed asylum seekers", for which Watson later admitted responsibility and expressed regrets.[2] [11]

In government

Watson was appointed as an assistant government whip in September 2004.[12] He was promoted in May 2006 to Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Veterans and was instrumental in ensuring that soldiers shot for cowardice in the First World War received posthumous pardons.[13] On 5 September 2006, it was reported he had signed a letter to Tony Blair urging the Prime Minister's resignation to end the uncertainty over his succession.[14] The Chief Whip, Jacqui Smith, told Watson that evening to either withdraw his signature to the letter or resign his post. On 6 September 2006, he resigned his ministerial position and released a further statement calling on Blair to resign.[15] Blair was quoted by the BBC as saying the statement and letter from Watson were "disloyal, discourteous and wrong" and that he would be seeing Watson later that day.[16]

Watson returned as a government whip in July 2007, after Gordon Brown became prime minister.[17] As Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office from January 2008 to June 2009, he was Minister for Digital Engagement and Civil Service Issues.[18] [19] Watson took a particular interest in digital affairs and in making non-personal government data more available to the public – promoting innovative data use and open source software.[20] [21]

Watson served on the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee from July 2009 to September 2012. He led a number of MPs in speaking out firmly against the Digital Economy Act 2010, as the bill was being passed through Parliament in April 2010. He took part in a protest against the bill outside parliament on 24 March 2010.[22]

Expenses

See main article: United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal. On 10 May 2009 it was revealed that since being re-elected to parliament in 2005, Watson had claimed the maximum £4,800 allowance for food in a single year. From 2005 to 2009, Watson and Iain Wright claimed over £100,000 on a central London flat they shared.[23] Watson responded that a "pizza wheel" that appeared on a Marks & Spencer receipt he had submitted was given as a free gift after he spent £150 at the store. He added: "All claims were made under the rules set out by the House of Commons authorities. I fully understand why the public expects the system to be reformed. I voted for this last week and only hope that reforms can go even further as quickly as possible."

Early opposition career

In October 2011 Watson was promoted to become the Labour Party National Campaign Coordinator and Deputy Chair of the Labour Party, to work with Jon Trickett and Michael Dugher in the Shadow Cabinet Office, running Labour's elections and campaigns.[24] He resigned from this position in July 2013, in light of the 2013 Labour Party Falkirk candidate selection row.[25]

In 2013, Watson joined a cross-party campaign in support of a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union. He supported an amendment by the Conservative MP Adam Afriyie which called for a referendum to be held before the 2015 general election.[26] [27]

Media

Watson has been critical of conservative former Fox News host Glenn Beck, claiming Beck's "type of journalism is dangerous and can have wide-ranging negative effects on society. The kind of material broadcast by Glenn Beck is not unique; a number of other 'shock jocks' operate in the States. However, none has displayed intolerance on such a frequent and irresponsible scale as Glenn Beck. It is vital that that kind of 'news' is not made or broadcast in the UK. However, the proposed acquisition of BSkyB by News Corporation means that there is an increased chance of it becoming a reality."[28]

Watson played a significant role in the News International phone hacking scandal by helping to bring the series of events at the News of the World into the open.[29] As a member of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, he questioned Rupert and James Murdoch, along with former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks, in a Committee session on 19 July 2011. After the subsequent re-questioning of James Murdoch on 10 November 2011, Watson likened him to a mafia boss.[30]

In July 2011 it was announced that Watson and his co-author Martin Hickman, a journalist from The Independent, were writing a book dealing with the relationship between newspapers belonging to Rupert Murdoch's News International and senior British politicians and police officers.[31] Watson wrote his book at the same time as The Guardian journalist Nick Davies was writing his, which was subsequently released as . Watson and Davies subsequently met and discussed their respective projects.[31] The publication date and title of Watson's book, Dial M for Murdoch: News Corporation and the Corruption of Britain, were released just three days before it was due to go on sale amid fears News International would try to prevent the launch.[32] On the day details of the book were revealed, Watson indicated on his blog his belief that the book would be controversial: "Very excited to say we've finally finished the book. It's out this Thursday. I have a hunch it will be one of the most attacked books this year."[33]

Operation Midland

On 24 October 2012, Watson suggested in the House of Commons that a paedophile network may have existed in the past at a high level, protected by connections to Parliament and involving a close aide to a former Prime Minister; neither the aide nor the former Prime Minister was named. He called on the Metropolitan Police to reopen a closed criminal inquiry into previous allegations. These allegations were based upon information provided to him by an NHS doctor to whom a disclosure of alleged abuse had been made by the man claiming to be a victim. In an interview with Kevin Maguire of the Daily Mirror at the University of Warwick, Watson gave the account of the information that had been presented to him, on which he based his call for an investigation.[34] In December 2012, the Metropolitan Police stated that, after Watson had passed information to them, they had established Operation Fairbank to investigate the allegations.[35] However, by March 2016 The Daily Telegraph reported that Operation Fairbank caused much speculation on the internet but made little progress in exposing the alleged paedophile ring.[36] In 2015, Watson was criticised for consistently refusing to comment after it was revealed that the police had been pushed into investigating rape allegations against Leon Brittan by Watson, who wrote to the Director of Public Prosecutions, and that the police later had to apologise that Brittan's family were not told that the case was dropped before his death. Watson had repeated the allegations after the death.[37] The rape allegations were examined by the Metropolitan Police but officers could not find evidence that would lead to further action. The person making the original allegations, Carl Beech, was later found guilty of making up the Westminster VIP paedophile ring.[38]

Watson was described in March 2019 at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse by lawyers for the falsely accused former MP, Harvey Proctor, as a "vehicle for conspiracy theorists".[39] After Beech's conviction in July 2019, Lady Brittan said: “It is too late for Tom Watson to apologise but his attempt to distance himself from the false allegations of Carl Beech in the wake of the guilty verdict is disingenuous and untruthful".[40] Harvey Proctor said "The Metropolitan Police were lapdogs to Mr Watson's crude dog whistle. It's time for the torchlight to take a closer look at Mr Watson. It is now beyond doubt that all of these allegations could never have been true and only someone with spectacular bad judgement could think that they might be. It is time for an apology from him to me..."[41] Proctor added, "He denies it now, but he was the cheerleader in chief for Mr Beech. He was in the team. Tom Watson scared the Metropolitan Police to death over phone hacking. He intended to do the same for historic child sexual abuse. Not because Tom Watson has got any interest in historic child sexual abuse. Tom Watson has got a great interest in himself, and in grandstanding, just as he is doing currently on his so-called anti-Semitism campaign."[42] Proctor later asked the Labour Party to suspend Watson and to investigate his behaviour on the grounds of breaching the party's membership code and bringing it into disrepute.[43] Lord Bramall's son also demanded an apology.[44] One of the daughters of the late Greville Janner, who was also accused by Beech, Rabbi Janner-Klausner, said "We have a system where people are believed instantly before the evidence is examined instead of being listened to compassionately and the allegations properly investigated. People were able to accuse (my father) without a shred of evidence and were believed straight away."[45] Daniel Janner QC, his son, said "Tom Watson should resign. He appointed himself Britain’s chief paedo-finder general and created a moral panic. His motive was personal political advancement riding on a bandwagon of public frenzy which he had whipped up. He should hang his head in shame. For him to take the moral high ground in the Labour Party against antisemitism is completely hypocritical."[46] [47]

Watson had also lobbied successfully Alison Saunders, the Director of Public Prosecutions to reopen Operation Vincente, an investigation into an alleged rape in 1967 by Leon Brittan. The police had concluded initially that the allegation, made in 2014 by a woman with a history of mental health problems, was false.[48] As a result of reopening the case, Brittan was interviewed under caution and was not told before his death that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute him.[49] [50]

In October 2019, details of the Henriques report emerged. The report said, of Watson, "His interest, however, in both Operation Midland and Operation Vincente created further pressure upon MPS officers.”; specifically, “A possible inference is that the officers, then responsible, were in a state of panic induced by Mr Watson’s letter.” It adds that Watson described Lord Brittan as being as “close to evil as any human being could be”, saying he “grossly insulted” the former home secretary. Harvey Proctor said: “The problem was that the police assigned to interview Beech lacked common sense and yielded to intense pressure from Tom Watson, an irresponsible politician out for his own publicity in order to galvanise his advancement to become deputy leader of the Labour party.” Lady Brittan said “The extent of Tom Watson’s involvement in the witch-hunt of innocent people has been laid bare. His subsequent attempts to distance himself show a complete lack of integrity. By misusing his public office to recklessly repeat false allegations, and to characterise himself as a victim, he has shown that he is unfit to hold the office of MP.”[51]

Deputy Leader of the Labour Party

On 8 May 2015, the day after the Labour Party lost the general election, Watson announced his intention to stand in the ensuing deputy leadership election, becoming the first to declare.[52] Watson was nominated by 59 Members of Parliament, more than any other candidate, and quickly emerged as the front runner.[53] On 12 September he was elected as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party with 198,962 votes or 50.7% in the third round, including second preference votes from those who voted for other candidates.[54] [55] [56] He was also appointed Chair of the Labour Party and Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office by new Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.[57] In 2019 after he stood down both as an MP and as Deputy Leader he said he had voted for Owen Smith in the 2016 Leadership election.[58]

Watson was the Vice Chair of Trade Union Friends of Israel (TUFI) as of 2015.[59]

In December 2015, Watson spoke about Labour members who took part in a vigil against proposed UK airstrikes on Syria outside the office of Stella Creasy MP, saying that "if there were Labour party members on that [anti-war] demonstration, intimidating staff members of an MP like that, then I think they should be removed from the party." His spokesman later said that Watson was unaware that the office was empty at the time.[60]

In October 2016, Watson abstained, along with 100 other Labour MPs who abstained on or voted against the Labour Party's unsuccessful motion to withdraw UK support from the Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen. The Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen had led to thousands of civilian casualties.[61] [62]

Watson announced in October 2017 that he had gone on hunger strike, in support of two Guantánamo Bay detainees also on hunger strike, after the US government changed its policy on prisoners who refuse food; they will not be fed at all, instead of being force fed.[63]

In the October 2016 shadow cabinet reshuffle, Watson was made Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. In that role, he called for greater scrutiny of a planned takeover of Sky UK by Murdoch-owned Fox,[64] backed the TV licence fee,[65] criticised government pressure on Ofcom in relation to regulation of the BBC,[66] and proposed fairer rail ticketing for football fans.[67] In 2017, he announced the Labour Party would launch a review of the NHS treatment of gambling addiction. The review was published in 2018 which proposed a blanket ban in the use of credit cards for betting.[68]

In June 2017, Ian Lavery replaced Watson as Labour Party Chair.[69]

In March 2018, Watson backed calls for a statue to be erected in memory of women's rights campaigner Mary Wollstonecraft.[70]

In September 2018, Watson vowed that if Labour won the next general election he would set up an independent, cross-party commission to investigate ways of preventing type-2 diabetes, with the aim of eliminating the estimated rise in cases within five years.[71]

Following defections of Labour MPs in 2019 to The Independent Group, later Change UK, Watson set up the Future Britain Group of Labour politicians.[72] He was criticised for continuing to accept funding from property developer David Garrard, who was reported to have given Change UK £1.5 million and to have financially supported Joan Ryan and Ian Austin since their departure from Labour.[73] Watson has also received funding from businessman Trevor Chinn.[74]

In July 2019, Watson was criticised by Labour's General Secretary Jennie Formby for being irresponsible in criticising Labour's handling of antisemitism claims. Formby said he risked exacerbating fears in the Jewish community and that, while antisemitism was a real problem, steps had been taken to tackle it. Watson had asked for a copy of the party response to a request by the Equality and Human Rights Commission to be released to the Shadow Cabinet and the NEC, which Formby said she had already offered sight of to Watson (she did not address the subject of releasing it to the rest of the Shadow Cabinet and NEC), and had previously asked to be copied in on individual complaints, which had data protection issues. In response to Watson's claim that the party's response to the Panorama programme Is Labour Anti-Semitic had "smeared" the former Labour staff members and "breached all common standards of decency", Formby stated that all current Labour staff members had access to an "Employee Assistance Programme" but said the party was not made aware of the distress suffered by staff members at the time and she was "very concerned" to hear about it for the first time in the Panorama documentary. Watson was also criticised for attacking Formby when she was undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer.[75] [76]

The same month, former Labour and Respect MP George Galloway and former Conservative MP Harvey Proctor announced individually that they planned to stand against Watson at the next general election, Galloway as a pro-Brexit pro-Corbyn independent, and Proctor in protest at Watson's role in the false paedophilia allegations of Operation Midland.[77] [78] July also saw Watson be the subject of a complaint to the Labour Party for making allegedly antisemitic remarks; he had in his Easter message asked readers to recall the arrest of Christ by "a squad of Roman soldiers under the direction of a servant to the High Priest." The complainant, Geoffrey Alderman, said that the fact this was not antisemitic under the IHRA definition adopted by the Labour Party highlighted the definition's "flaws".[79] This was also the month in which cartoonist Steve Bell protested to The Guardian after it refused to run an installment of his long running 'If...' cartoon strip, which portrayed Watson as an "antisemite finder general".[80]

In September 2019, Watson made a speech urging Labour to become a pro-remain party, in order to win back disaffected remain voters.[81] He has been quoted by The Guardian as saying that "most of those who've deserted us over our Brexit policy did so with deep regret and would greatly prefer to come back; they just want us to take an unequivocal position that, whatever happens, we'll fight to remain, and to sound like we mean it."[82] Jeremy Corbyn rejected his proposition, saying that Labour would continue to represent both sides of the Brexit divide.[83]

Resignation

On 6 November 2019 Watson announced that he would be standing down both as an MP and as Deputy Leader and leave office on 12 December 2019.[84] He stated his decision was "personal, not political" and declared his intention to continue campaigning on health issues.[85] The Jewish Labour Movement described his decision to step down as "shocking and saddening".[86]

Expanding on the reasons for his resignation in an interview in December 2019, he said "two weeks before I resigned, a guy was arrested for giving me a death threat. He was a Labour supporter. The police got in touch and said, 'We've arrested this guy', assuming I knew about it. But I didn't. The Labour party had sent out a fundraising email that he had responded to with a death threat. The party reported it to the police, but didn't tell me... the brutality and hostility is real and it's day to day. So I just thought: now's the time to take a leap, do something different. You've had a good innings. You've done good stuff. Go now."[87] His former constituency, West Bromwich East, went to the Conservative Party for the first time since its foundation in 1974, with the Conservatives gaining a 12.1 swing on Labour.[88]

Later career

In March 2020, Watson was appointed chair of UK Music.[89]

In the summer of 2020, Watson participated in the ITV reality programme Don't Rock The Boat, which was broadcast in November 2020.

In September 2020, Watson, who had previously been heavily critical of the gambling industry, took a job as a senior adviser on problem gambling to Flutter Entertainment, which runs the UK gambling companies Paddy Power, Betfair and Sky Bet.[90]

He produced an autobiographical book, "Downsizing" (2020),[91] [92] and presented a two-part documentary on ITV, "Giving Up Sugar for Good" (2021),[93] [94] documenting his personal experience of losing seven stone in less than twelve months and putting his type 2 diabetes into remission by following a low-carbohydrate lifestyle.[95] [96]

Peerage

In January 2020, it was reported that Watson had been nominated for a peerage. According to John Rentoul, who wrote in The Independent, his nomination was subsequently rejected by the House of Lords Appointments Commission, the body that vets nominees for "propriety". Watson is believed to have been rejected owing to his actions surrounding Operation Midland.[97] [98] [99] [100]

In August 2020, it was reported by The Daily Telegraph that Watson was to once again be nominated for a peerage, in this instance by the Labour leader Keir Starmer.[101]

It was announced on 14 October 2022, that as part of the 2022 Special Honours, Watson would receive a life peerage.[102] On 21 November 2022, he was created Baron Watson of Wyre Forest, of Kidderminster in the County of Worcestershire.[103]

Personal life

Watson married Siobhan Corby in 2000.[104] They had two children before separating in 2012.[105] [106]

In September 2018, during an interview with BBC Radio 4's The Today Programme, Watson revealed that he had been diagnosed with type-2 diabetes but had "reversed" the condition through diet and exercise. Watson explained that, between the summer of 2017 and September 2018, he had lost 7st. He also revealed that he had "battled weight since my early 20s".

Watson is a gamer and a regular reviewer of games for New Statesman[107] and other titles. He finds it relaxing and confessed to spending too much time on Portal 2 while preparing for questions during the hacking story interviews.[108] He is also a fan of alternative rock music, especially the band Drenge, whom he recommended to the Labour leader Ed Miliband in his letter of resignation when stepping down from the post of party general-election co-ordinator.[109] He additionally likes the music of Courtney Jaye,[109] Danny Coughlan, Billy Bragg, Elvis Costello, Primal Scream and Public Enemy.[110]

Bibliography

External links

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Notes and References

  1. Web site: What does Tom Watson want? . New Statesman . 18 September 2019 . 28 March 2022 . 27 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220827161814/https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2019/09/what-does-tom-watson-want . live .
  2. News: The Politics Interview — Tom Watson. New Statesman. London. 28 September 2011. Jon. Bernstein. 15 July 2016. 3 August 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160803075449/http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2011/09/watson-news-interview-murdoch. live.
  3. Web site: Select Committee on Home Affairs Third Report. UK Parliament. 4 November 2012. 22 May 2002. 21 September 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054901/http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm200102/cmselect/cmhaff/318/31815.htm. live.
  4. News: Bamber. David. Gary Glitter's comeback plan sparks protest. Telegraph.co.uk. 14 October 2001. 10 February 2012. London. 29 January 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120129183149/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1359398/Gary-Glitters-comeback-plan-sparks-protest.html. live.
  5. Web site: Journal And Information Office, House of Lords. Publications and Records. Publications.parliament.uk. 13 March 2013. 30 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171230115420/https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmwib/wb020327/bus.htm. live.
  6. News: 4 August 2002. Byers tipped for Jewish lobby job. Independent. 10 April 2018. 11 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180411031337/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/byers-tipped-for-jewish-lobby-job-172119.html. live.
  7. Web site: How Tom Watson voted on the Iraq War. theyworkforyou.com. 17 September 2017. 30 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171230172220/https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/11309/tom_watson/west_bromwich_east/divisions?policy=1049. live.
  8. News: Which current MPs voted for the Iraq war? . iNEWS . 6 July 2016 . 26 October 2018 . 27 October 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181027021723/https://inews.co.uk/news/long-reads/current-labour-mps-voted-iraq-war/ . live .
  9. Web site: How Tom Watson voted on investigations into the Iraq war. theyworkforyou.com. 17 September 2017. 27 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181027061515/https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/11309/tom_watson/west_bromwich_east/divisions?policy=975. live.
  10. Web site: The Politics Interview — Tom Watson. www.newstatesman.com. 15 February 2018. 26 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170926041215/https://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2011/09/watson-news-interview-murdoch. live.
  11. News: Series of political knocks took toll on loyal Brownite, Tom Watson. The Guardian. 2 June 2009. 23 February 2019. 23 February 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190223131516/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/jun/02/tom-watson-step-down-controversies. live.
  12. News: 2005-01-06 . Marina Hyde's diary . en . 2021-06-04 . 5 June 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210605153247/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/jan/06/1 . live .
  13. News: War shame ended by plea of a daughter. The Guardian. London, UK. Henry. McDonald. 28 October 2007. 25 May 2010. 23 November 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161123134219/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/oct/28/world.military. live.
  14. Web site: 2006-09-05 . Minister joins Blair exit demands . 2021-06-04 . BBC News . en-GB . 8 August 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070808054417/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5314632.stm . live .
  15. Web site: 2006-09-06 . Blair hit by wave of resignations . 2021-06-04 . BBC News . en-GB . 21 February 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070221154229/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/5319328.stm . live .
  16. News: Resignations and threats: the plot to oust the prime minister . Patrick . Wintour . Will . Woodward . 11 September 2006 . The Guardian . 15 February 2018 . 1 March 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170301205818/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2006/sep/07/uk.labourleadership1 . live .
  17. News: In full: Gordon Brown's reshuffle . . 24 January 2008 . 25 May 2010 . 29 October 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211029194715/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7207829.stm . live .
  18. News: Sparrow . Andrew . 2009-06-02 . Profile: Tom Watson . The Guardian . 2023-09-13 . 0261-3077.
  19. Web site: 2009-01-29 . News in brief . 2023-09-13 . Times Higher Education (THE) . en.
  20. News: Take your chance to free public data . . Michael . Cross . 10 July 2008 . 25 May 2010 . 10 August 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140810192358/http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2008/jul/10/freeourdata.egovernment . live .
  21. News: UK government backs open source . . 25 February 2009 . 25 May 2010 . 8 June 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090608182442/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7910110.stm . live .
  22. Web site: Tom Watson MP: 'Shame On' Authors Of Digital Economy Bill . https://archive.today/20120909141206/http://www.next-gen.biz/news/tom-watson-mp-%C3%ABshame-on%C3%AD-authors-digital-economy-bill . dead . 9 September 2012 . Craig . Owens . 30 March 2010 .
  23. News: Iain Wright and Tom Watson lavish £100,000 on shared central London flat on MPs' expenses . Gordon Rayner and Rosa Prince . The Daily Telegraph . 10 May 2009 . 18 December 2009 . 6 February 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100206131921/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5301766/Iain-Wright-and-Tom-Watson-lavish-100000-on-shared-central-London-flat-on-MPs-expenses.html . live .
  24. News: 7 October 2011. Unveiling Labour's new guard. BBC News. 23 November 2011. 2 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190402143049/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15221193. live.
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  26. News: 6 October 2013. David Cameron under new pressure to hold EU referendum before election. The Guardian. 23 March 2019. 23 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190323234918/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/oct/06/david-cameron-eu-referendum-election. live.
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  34. News: Was there a paedophile ring in No 10? MP Tom Watson demands probe . London . The Independent . Martin . Hickman . 25 October 2012 . 12 December 2012 . 15 October 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171015150455/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/was-there-a-paedophile-ring-in-no-10-mp-tom-watson-demands-probe-8224702.html . live .
  35. News: Jimmy Savile abuse: Number of alleged victims reaches 450 . BBC News . 12 December 2012 . 12 December 2012 . 12 December 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121212183227/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20697738 . live .
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  37. News: Watson urged to break silence over Lord Brittan abuse claims. Cecil. Nicholas. 9 October 2015. London Evening Standard. 6.
  38. News: Carl Beech aka Nick found guilty of making up Westminster VIP paedophile ring. Martin. Evans. The Telegraph. 22 July 2019. www.telegraph.co.uk. 22 July 2019. 22 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190722143454/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/07/22/nick-trial-carl-beech-found-guilty-making-westminster-vip-paedophile/. live.
  39. News: Evans. Martin. 29 March 2019. Tom Watson was a 'patsy for fake news' the child abuse inquiry is told. Daily Telegraph. 30 March 2019. 29 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190329154102/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/03/29/tom-watson-patsy-fake-news-child-abuse-inquiry-told/. live.
  40. News: Lady Brittan accuses Tom Watson of being 'untruthful' over his dealings with paedophile and fantasist Carl Beech. Mendick. Robert. 25 July 2019. 25 July 2019. The Telegraph. 24 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190724214213/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/07/24/lady-brittan-accuses-tom-watson-untruthful-dealings-paedophile/. live.
  41. News: Carl Beech: Ex-nurse found guilty of inventing murderous VIP Westminster paedophile ring. Clifton. Katy. Cockroft. Stephanie. 22 July 2019. 22 July 2019. Evening Standard. 22 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190722161837/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/carl-beech-exnurse-accused-of-inventing-a-murderous-westminster-vip-paedophile-ring-is-found-guilty-a4195606.html. live.
  42. News: Spear-Cole. Rebecca. 27 July 2019. Carl Beech: Former MP Harvey Proctor calls Tom Watson 'cheerleader-in-chief' for Westminster VIP paedophile ring accuser. Evening Standard. 27 July 2019. 26 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190726204909/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/carl-beech-former-mp-harvey-proctor-calls-tom-watson-cheerleaderinchief-for-westminster-vip-a4199391.html. live.
  43. News: Harvey Proctor urges Labour to suspend Tom Watson over Operation Midland role. Evans. Martin. 1 August 2019. 2 August 2019. the Telegraph. 1 August 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190801195057/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/08/01/harvey-proctor-urges-labour-suspend-tom-watson-operation-midland/. live.
  44. News: Webber. Esther. 26 July 2019. Lord Bramall's son demands apology from Tom Watson over Carl Beech abuse lies. The Times. 27 July 2019. 27 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190727050912/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lord-bramall-s-son-demands-apology-from-tom-watson-over-carl-beech-abuse-lies-qffl9w8rq. live.
  45. News: Doherty. Rosa. 24 July 2019. Paedophile's false allegations about my father 'make me sick,' says Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner. Jewish Chronicle. 26 July 2019. 26 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190726203137/https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/rabbi-laura-janner-klausner-it-makes-me-sick-to-see-father-s-name-associated-with-carl-beech-1.486754. live.
  46. News: 23 July 2019. Carl Beech: Tom Watson says he held meeting 'to reassure him'. BBC News. 23 July 2019. 23 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190723190309/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-49086717. live.
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  48. News: Metropolitan Police 'suppressed' report into second false Lord Brittan claim. Mendick. Robert. 20 September 2019. 22 September 2019. The Telegraph. 21 September 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190921193008/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/09/20/metropolitan-police-suppressed-report-intosecond-false-lord/. live.
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  64. News: Fox's £11.7bn bid for Sky 'should be referred to competition authorities'. Sweney. Mark. 20 June 2017. The Guardian. 21 August 2017. 5 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171205112605/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/jun/20/foxs-117bn-bid-for-sky-should-be-referred-to-competition-authorities. live.
  65. News: Tom Watson urges Tories to reject DUP plan to abolish TV licence fee. Sweney. Mark. 13 June 2017. The Guardian. 21 August 2017. 30 October 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171030182215/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/jun/13/tom-watson-urges-tories-to-reject-dup-plan-to-abolish-tv-licence-fee. live.
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  67. News: Labour's Tom Watson calls for more flexible rail ticketing to help away fans. Wilson. Paul. 10 August 2017. The Guardian. 21 August 2017. 11 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171211172245/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/aug/10/football-fans-premier-league-rail-tickets. live.
  68. Web site: Ban credit cards for online gambling, says government review. Rob. Davies. 23 January 2018. The Guardian.
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  70. News: Jeremy Corbyn backs calls for statue to early feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. 2018-03-07. i. 2018-09-12. 13 September 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180913002310/https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/jeremy-corbyn-backs-calls-statue-early-feminist-mary-wollstonecraft/. live.
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  74. News: Sir Trevor Chinn becomes latest Labour donor to fund the Dan Jarvis machine . totalpolitics . 21 April 2016 . 9 January 2018 . 17 July 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190717220211/https://www.totalpolitics.com/articles/news/sir-trevor-chinn-becomes-latest-labour-donor-fund-dan-jarvis-machine . live .
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  77. News: George Galloway plans to challenge Labour deputy Tom Watson as 'pro-Brexit' candidate. 17 July 2019. 26 July 2019. 26 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190726152527/https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/george-galloway-plans-to-challenge-labour-deputy-tom-watson-as-pro-brexit-candidate-1-4966665. live.
  78. News: Harvey Proctor vows to stand against Tom Watson at next general election in revenge for 'Nick' campaign. Mendick. Robert. 25 July 2019. 26 July 2019. 26 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190726003601/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/07/25/harvey-proctor-vows-stand-against-tom-watson-next-general-election/. live.
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  82. Web site: Corbyn rejects call by Tom Watson for Labour to fully back remain. Stewart. Heather. 2019-09-11. The Guardian. 2019-09-16. 16 September 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190916124814/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/sep/11/jeremy-corbyn-rejects-call-tom-watson-labour-fully-back-remain. live.
  83. Web site: Anger as Corbyn faces down calls for Labour to back new Brexit vote. Stewart. Heather. 2019-04-30. The Guardian. 2019-09-16. 21 September 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190921170804/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/apr/30/labour-nec-backs-second-referendum-in-specific-circumstances. live.
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