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Tom Watson said it was "disappointing" that the Tories were "trivialising" the local elections "by making this about the characters of individual candidates when they had the opportunity to genuinely scrutinise their main opponents [UKIP]".... Continue to article
Tom Watson is something of an enigma. F Scott Fitzgerald said there were no second acts in American lives, but he never said anything, as far as I’m aware, about West Bromwich lives. Watson’s media pr... Continue to article
WORDS: SAM MACRORY Pity any poor would-be lawyers of the future. A question of head-scratchingly difficult proportions is heading their way. It goes like this: when is statutory underpinning not, in fact, statutory underpinning? Confu... Continue to article
07/04/2012 in Labour Party
Tom Watson has said Labour "owed" it to the unions to treat them with "respect" given their involvement in the party. The Labour deputy chairman said the Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls had been wrong not to have forewarned the unions he would support the public sector pay freeze.
News International have reached a £2m settlement with the family of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, after her phone was allegedly hacked by journalists working for the Sun and News of the World. Rupert Murdoch will donate a further £1m to charity. The money will be split across Shooting Star Chase, Child Victims of Crime, Suzy Lamplugh Trust, Braintumouruk.org.uk and Cancer Research.
The donation comes as Rupert Murdoch attends the News Corp annual shareholders meeting in America, where he will face Tom Watson, who is intending to make dramatic allegations about News Corp's use of surveillance.
Tom Watson has been told to step down from the Culture, Media and Sport Committee by its Chairman, after Ed Miliband promoted him to the Shadow Cabinet. Mr Watson, who was instrumental in questioning the Murdochs about the scandal, was promoted to Deputy Chair of the Labour Party in a Shadow Cabinet reshuffle. Conservative MP John Whittingdale, who is also the committee Chairman, said parliamentary convention dictated that members of the shadow cabinet should not sit on backbench committees.
04/02/2012 in Gossip & Rumour
George Osborne has spent over £30,000 of public money refurbishing his 11 Downing Street residence and Number 10 flat. The information was uncovered by the Daily Telegraph through an FOI request. Labour MP Tom Watson said Mr Osborne had failed to “take a leadership position” over austerity.
Labour MP Tom Watson is to join forces with US lawyers suing News Corp, the Financial Times reports. Mr Watson is also planning to join a protest at the company's annual meeting this week. His stand comes as Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB is predicted to report consistent growth for the first-quarter thanks to the selling of extended products to existing customers. Profits at the pay-for-TV company remain strong despite fresh allegations that heir-apparent, James Murdoch, had to sign off for any phone-hacking costs exceeding £250,000.
17/09/2011 in Emergency Services
The Metropolitan Police is seeking a court order under the Official Secrets Act demanding that The Guardian newspaper reveal its sources over the phone hacking scandal. Labour's Tom Watson said that the move was "outrageous" and "completely unacceptable". Alan Rusbridger, the Guardian's editor, said the paper would "resist this extraordinary demand to the utmost."
03/05/2013 on Today, BBC Radio 4
13/01/2013 on Pienaar's Politics, BBC Radio 5Live
20/09/2012 on Today, BBC Radio 4
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