Blair 'tried' to hush up hacking scandal as whistleblower MP told: 'Rebekah Brooks will pursue you for the rest of your life'
- Tom Watson claims Rebekah Brooks was not only responsible for wrongdoing, but knew about it
- MP said in Commons that James Murdoch personally authorised money to be paid to silence hacking victims – an attempt to pervert the course of justice
- Fellow MP Chris Bryant, a phone-hack victim, brands newspaper company ‘gangsters’
Tony Blair urged Gordon Brown to persuade the Labour MP who led the campaign to expose News of the World phone-hacking to back off, friends of Mr Brown said last night.
Well-placed sources said Mr Blair, who has close links with the paper’s owner Rupert Murdoch, wanted Mr Brown to get his ally Tom Watson to lay off the News International (NI) title, but Mr Brown refused.
Mr Watson’s two-year crusade played a major part in Mr Murdoch’s shock decision to close the paper after today’s edition.
Urge: Gordon Brown, right, was urged to get his ally Tom Watson, left, to lay off the News International title
The MP used Commons legal protection to make damning allegations against NI chief executive Rebekah Brooks and chairman James Murdoch.
The assertion that Mr Blair tried to help Mr Murdoch came amid claims that:
- Mr Watson was told Mrs Brooks ‘will pursue you for the rest of your life’ over his stance.
- Mrs Brooks begged Blairite ex-Cabinet Minister Tessa Jowell to help ‘stop this madman Tom Watson’ – and also sought help from her friend, Mr Blair.
- Labour MP Chris Bryant, a phone-hack victim, branded NI ‘gangsters’.
- A NI executive threatened to take revenge on Ed Miliband for saying Mrs Brooks should quit.
Meanwhile, David Cameron came under fire from his own party for attacking Press regulators. In today’s Mail on Sunday, MP David Davis writes: ‘The primary failure has not been of newspaper regulation, but of the criminal law.’
Close: Tony Blair, seen here with Rebekah Brooks when she was editor of the Sun, has close links with Rupert Murdoch, who owns both the Sun and its sister paper, the News of the World
Mr Blair’s attempt to persuade Mr Brown to put pressure on Mr Watson is likely to bring his links with Mr Murdoch under fresh scrutiny.
On becoming Labour leader in 1994, Mr Blair flew to a conference hosted by Mr Murdoch to end Labour’s feud with him. The alliance continued throughout Mr Blair’s ten years in office as Mr Murdoch’s papers – The Times, The Sun and the News of the World – supported him.
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'I had no knowledge of phone hacking while I was editor of NotW', Rebekah Brooks tells MPs as Rupert Murdoch... -
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In contrast, Mr Brown was accused of orchestrating the campaign against NI after The Sun pulled its support for him at the last Election.
Mr Brown’s office declined to comment on whether Mr Blair had intervened, saying: ‘We never comment on private conversations.’
But a friend of Mr Brown said: ‘There is no doubt about it, Tony wanted Gordon to intervene.’
Alliance: Tony Blair's alliance with Rupert Murdoch, left, continued throughout Mr Blair's ten years in office as Mr Murdoch's papers, The Times, The Sun and the News of the World supported him
A spokesman for Mr Blair said: ‘The allegation is categorically untrue.’ He declined to elaborate on which aspect was untrue.
Mr Watson was reportedly threatened by NI in the early stages of the phone-hacking dispute. He was said to have been told by someone from the company: ‘Rebekah Brooks will pursue you for the rest of your life. She will never forgive you for this.’
As the MP homed in on his prey, the pressure from NI – who believed he was being egged on by Mr Brown – became increasingly menacing.
One source said the MP was given an extraordinary message as he called for ex-News of the World editor Andy Coulson to resign as Mr Cameron’s communications director: ‘The word from Wapping [NI’s HQ] was that Watson can have Coulson but not Rebekah.’
The allegations Mr Watson made under Commons protection from libel action include that:
- ‘Rebekah Brooks was not only responsible for wrongdoing, but knew about it.’
- ‘NI paid people to interfere with police officers on behalf of known criminals.’
- ‘James Murdoch personally authorised money to be paid to silence hacking victims – an attempt to pervert the course of justice.’
The final edition: The last ever news of the World - whose closure was announced this week - proclaims 'Thank you and goodbye'
Labour MP Chris Bryant also says he was ‘warned off’ about highlighting phone hacking.
He said: ‘A friend said someone very close to the highest level of NI had told him that my actions would never be forgotten by the company.
'NI behave like gangsters. They operate by a combination of fear and favour.’
Sources close to Labour leader Ed Miliband said he was also threatened after attacking NI.
A Labour official said: ‘An NI executive told one of Ed’s aides, “If you are making it personal, so will we.” ’
An ally said: ‘That these people make threats shows they still don’t get it.’
Mr Miliband is to force a Commons vote on Wednesday calling for Mr Murdoch’s bid for total control of BSkyB to be postponed until police inquiries into hacking are complete. Labour thinks Lib Dems, and some rebel Tories, will back them, forcing Mr Cameron to order MPs to support Mr Murdoch.
Meanwhile, the 63-year-old man arrested on Friday over alleged corrupt payments to police officers has been released on police bail.
Last night, NI said: ‘We are co-operating fully with the police. When provided with concrete evidence, people will be held to account.’
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