Tom Watson, Baron Watson of Wyre Forest
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 was born in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire, and educated at King Charles I School, Kidderminster, although he left before completing his A-Levels.[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.[24] 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.[31] 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.[32] Watson wrote his book at the same time as The Guardian journalist Nick Davies was writing his, which was subsequently released as Hack Attack: How the Truth Caught Up with Rupert Murdoch.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.[36] 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.[39] 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".[45] 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."[47][48] 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.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.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.[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.[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.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.[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."[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.[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.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".[108] 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.[110] 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.[111] He additionally likes the music of Courtney Jaye,[111] Danny Coughlan, Billy Bragg, Elvis Costello, Primal Scream and Public Enemy.
The Right HonourableDeputy Leader of the Labour PartyJeremy CorbynHarriet HarmanAngela RaynerMinister of State for Digital Engagement and Civil Service IssuesGordon BrownGillian MerronDawn ButlerParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for VeteransTony BlairDon TouhigDerek TwiggMember of the House of LordsLord TemporalLife peerageMember of ParliamentWest Bromwich EastPeter SnapeNicola RichardsGovernment whipAssistant WhipLord CommissionerShadow cabinetDigital, Culture, Media and SportParty ChairCabinet OfficeDeputy Party ChairNational Campaign CoordinatorSheffieldWest Riding of YorkshireLabourAlma materUniversity of HullHouse of LordsKidderminsterKing Charles I SchoolNational Organisation of Labour Students1997 general electionAmalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union2001 general electionParliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet OfficeEd Milibanddeputy chairselection of a new parliamentary candidate for FalkirkWatson was electedleaderCarl BeechOperation MidlandOwen Smith2016 leadership electionUK MusicFlutter EntertainmentHull University Labour ClubStudents' UnionHome Affairs Select CommitteeUK drug policyCommission on Narcotic DrugsGary GlitterTen Minute RuleLabour Friends of IsraelStephen Byerswar with IraqNew StatesmanBirmingham Hodge Hill by-electioncowardiceFirst World WarChief WhipJacqui SmithCulture, Media and Sport Select CommitteeDigital Economy Act 2010United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandalIain Wrightpizza wheelMarks & SpencerLabour Party National Campaign Coordinator and Deputy Chair of the Labour PartyJon TrickettMichael DugherShadow2013 Labour Party Falkirk candidate selectionBritain's membership of the European UnionAdam Afriyie2015 general electionFox NewsGlenn Beckshock jocksNews CorporationNews International phone hacking scandalNews of the WorldRebekah BrooksThe IndependentRupert MurdochNews InternationalThe GuardianNick DaviesDial M for Murdoch: News Corporation and the Corruption of BritainElm Guest House claims and controversyMetropolitan PoliceDaily MirrorOperation FairbankThe Daily TelegraphLeon BrittanDirector of Public ProsecutionsIndependent Inquiry into Child Sexual AbuseHarvey ProctorLord BramallGreville JannerRabbi Janner-Klausnermoral panicAlison Saundersgeneral electiondeputy leadership electionChair of the Labour PartyShadow Minister for the Cabinet OfficeStella CreasySaudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemencivilian casualtieshunger strikeGuantánamo Bayforce fedShadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and SportSky UKMurdochIan LaveryLabour Party ChairMary Wollstonecraft