Last night, The Telegraph gave us advanced sight of the latest political cronies set to don ermine and enter the Lords. Boris is appointing a group of Brexiteers, Tory donors, former MPs, and Paul Dacre – though shakes up the list with top Remainer Sir Nicholas Soames. Labour, on the other hand, finally seems on the verge of getting former deputy leader Tom Watson into the upper house. The LibDems get precisely zero new Lords…
Tom Watson’s impending investiture is arguably the most surprising on the list, given just two years ago it was widely reported that he’d been blocked by the House of Lords Appointments Commission following a nomination by Jeremy Corbyn.
At the time, The Independent, The Sun, The Guardian and The Times all confidently reported that Watson’s blocking from the Lords was wholly down to his scandalous support for allegations of a Westminster paedophile ring, made by the jailed fantasist Carl Beech. Back in 2020, it was former Tory MP Harvey Proctor who successfully led the campaign to deny Watson a peerage after being smeared as part of Operation Midland.
In nominating Tom Watson for a peerage Sir Keir Starmer has illustrated a distinct lack of judgment.
— Harvey Proctor (@KHarveyProctor) October 2, 2022
Starmer has also displayed complete disregard for Lord Bew & the House of Lords Appointments Commission who refused Watson’s first nomination by Corbyn in 2020!
What exactly has changed in the last two years?
The full extraordinary statement [WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT]:
I am a private citizen. I have not held public office and I have not sought public office since May 1987. As such, I am entitled to be regarded as a private citizen. Since the General Election of 1987 I have sought a private life. I have been enjoying a full life, gainfully employed and personally happy.
This all came to an abrupt end on 4th March 2015. What now follows is a statement on my present predicament created by an unidentified person making totally untrue claims against my name. Before going any further I wish to make it clear that the genuine victims of child sexual abuse have my fullest sympathy and support and I would expect the full weight of the law to be used against anyone, be he ‘ever so high, or ever so low’, committing such odious offences. Nobody and I repeat, nobody is above the law.
2. However, I attach equal weight to justice for innocent people wrongly accused of child sexual abuse, especially when it is done anonymously. This is what is happening to me and many high profile figures, many of whom are dead and cannot answer back. This statement is necessarily lengthy and detailed and at times complicated. Please bear with me and at the end I will be prepared to answer your questions.
3. On 18th June, 2015, at my request, I was interviewed by the Metropolitan Police Murder Squad “Operation Midland”. This interview lasted over 6 hours. At the very outset I had to help the Police with my full name which they appeared not to know. It may surprise you that it was over 3 and an half months after my home was searched for 15 hours and more than 7 months after the most serious allegations were made against me that I was interviewed. I went on to cooperate fully with the Police with their investigation.
Former Conservative MP Harvey Proctor tells the Today programme he wants to be interviewed by police “at the earliest opportunity” after his home was searched by police investigating allegations of child abuse. He says he “never attended sex parties” and was not part of a “rent boy ring”…
