Ex-Labour deputy leader should be 'nowhere near Parliament' after VIP paedophile ring allegations, Tories have said
By
Christopher Hope,
ASSOCIATE EDITOR (POLITICS)
14 October 2022 • 7:23pm
Tom Watson, twice a deputy leader of the Labour Party, was recommended for a peer by Sir Keir Starmer
Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of bringing "shame on the House of Lords" after the Government confirmed that Labour's former deputy leader Tom Watson has been given a peerage.
Mr Watson, Arlene Foster and former Conservative MP Sir Nicholas Soames are among 26 peers who are now set to enter Parliament's upper chamber.
Mr Watson, twice a deputy leader of the party, was recommended for a peer by leader Sir Keir Starmer two years after the House of Appointments Commission blocked his application.
The then-Labour MP had wrongly claimed in the House of Commons in 2012 that a child sex abuse ring had operated in Westminster and was accused of putting pressure on police to reopen an historic rape allegation against Lord Brittan made by a suspected fantasist with mental health problems.
Just days after Lord Brittan’s death in 2015, Mr Watson described the peer as “close to evil as any human being could be”, quoting Carl Beech, another fantasist who was subsequently convicted of perverting the course of justice and paedophile offences and jailed for 18 years.
Other public figures including Harvey Proctor, a former Tory MP and General Lord Bramall were also wrongly implicated.
Tories criticised the news. Lord Lamont, a former Tory Chancellor of the Exchequer, told The Telegraph: "Tom Watson destroyed the reputations of a number of totally innocent people. He ruined the lives of Lord Brittan, Harvey Proctor and General Lord Bramall.
"If there were any justice in the world Tom Watson would be nowhere near Parliament. This will bring great shame on Labour and the House of Lords."
Mr Proctor said: "I fear the House of Lords will rue the day Tom Watson was ennobled. Today is a very dark day; Tom Watson is now a peer of the realm. It is iniquitous to ennoble him now.
"Those who were the real victims of Operation Midland – Lord Leon Brittan, Field Marshal Lord Bramall and Sir Edward Heath will be turning in their grave. I am deeply depressed at the state of our honours system which honours the dishonourable and rewards failure."
Lord Brittan's widow Diana struck a more conciliatory tone saying on Friday that she hoped Mr Watson would make a good peer and that "lessons have been learned" from the past eight years.
Mr Watson did not return requests for comment. He has in the past apologised for the “people that suffered” because of Beech’s allegations but that “I did try my best to get to the truth” of his claims.
Daily Telegraph