independent.co.uk
By Martin Hickman and Cahal Milmo
Monday, 11 July 2011
Tony Blair urged Gordon Brown to persuade the Labour MP who led the campaign to expose the phone-hacking scandal to fall silent, according to a report yesterday.
The Mail on Sunday stated that “well-placed” sources said Mr Blair had sought to encourage Mr Brown to ask his supporter Tom Watson to back off. A “friend of Mr Brown” was quoted as saying: “There is no doubt about it, Tony wanted Gordon to intervene.” Mr Watson, who claimed last week that News International had entered “the criminal underworld”, was reported to have been told that Rebekah Brooks, News International’s chief executive, “will pursue you for the rest of your life”.
Earlier this year, another Labour MP, Chris Bryant, said in a Commons speech that a senior figure allied to Mr Murdoch had warned his friends that speaking out about the scandal would not be forgotten.
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