The Guardian on Tom Watson: 'Phone hacking is only the start. There's a lot more to come out'

[GliderGuider]

The Guardian has run a very interesting and sympathetic profile of Tom Watson, the bulldog Labour MP who is chewing on Rupert Murdoch's political heart. It gives some great insights into the kind of scum we're dealing with.

Tom Watson: 'Phone hacking is only the start. There's a lot more to come out'

A month ago, Tom Watson received word that the Guardian was about to expose the hacking of Milly Dowler's phone by the News of the World. With 72 hours to go, he cleared his diary; a few days later, he was averaging three hours sleep a night, as he and his staff picked through leaked documents, newspaper archives, personal testimony from phone-hacking victims, and more. As the MP who had been obsessively trying to cut through the murk surrounding News International for two years, he well knew that the most dramatic chapter in the two-year phone-hacking saga had arrived – and the imperative now was to work harder than ever.

And has he been surprised by what's happened since? "Yeah. I guess two years ago, I felt that all this would probably cost Rebekah Brooks her job. I thought the scale of wrongdoing was so great that somebody on the UK side of the company would have to take responsibility. And I was absolutely convinced that there was a cover-up. But I didn't know that it would all travel abroad. I didn't know it would get to America and Australia, and everywhere that it has." The closure of the News of the World, he says, came as "a genuine shock" to him, but he says that the same applied to News International: "There was a huge consumer boycott, there was going to be no advertising . . . I don't think they had a choice."

There is one fascinating subtext to the whole story: Watson's claim that Brooks has long been driven to damage him, which he says dates back to his move against Blair. "I had one particular chilling conversation in 2006," he says, "when I was told that she would never forgive me for doing what I did to 'her Tony'. When I was made an assistant whip under Brown, the Sun did a story saying it was an outrageous I'd been awarded a job. Whenever I moved, there was a dig. It's painful and it's not easy, but that's the job, and the culture we operated in. It's when it's scaled up that those attack pieces take on a greater significance." But in all seriousness, at that point the pressure was immense. There were little conversations with people: 'We've had News International on the phone, how aggressive are you going to be on this committee? What are you going to ask?'" Who was asking that? "People who worked at No 10. People I'd worked with before. In conversations, these things were dropped in."

(GG: For me, this next paragraph is fascinating. Tom now finally gets it. )

So, he has changed. "I have changed. This has been a profoundly life-changing event for me, in many ways. It's certainly changed my politics. When I was first elected, I was a completely naive and gauche politician. You look at the pillars of the state: politics, the media, police, lawyers – they've all got their formal role, and then nestling above that is that power elite who are networked in through soft, social links, that are actually running the show. Why didn't I know that 10 years ago, and why didn't I rail against it? Why did I become part of it? I was 34. I'm 44 now. I was naive. But I'll never let that happen again."

This story is likely to get still more amazing before it finally winds up.

[xchrom]

1. Good. & you just knew that was the case. Nt

[BeFree]

2. Doubt there is TPTB?

"When I was first elected, I was a completely naive and gauche politician. You look at the pillars of the state: politics, the media, police, lawyers – they've all got their formal role, and then nestling above that is that power elite who are networked in through soft, social links, that are actually running the show. "

[GliderGuider]

3. I know. How can one stay that naive for that long in this day and age?

At least he's figured it out.

I think people who get heavily invested in one or the other pillar of society (especially those at the foot soldier level) become a little blind to the true state of affairs. Nobody wants to feel like they are a marionette. I think Tom saw the world solely in terms of party politics up until maybe 5 years ago.

[BeFree]

4. Yeah

I am so very happy to read about an established politician actually having the courage to speak the truth. Sure, there are many who will continue to deny that the powerful continue to seek even more power, but at least now they can't truthfully say there is no PTB running things.

[GliderGuider]

5. The Murdoch scandal is ripping away the veils.

It's going to be fascinating to watch what happens as the story jumps the pond. I've always thought that the power elite would fight tooth and nail to keep their connections (to each other and to their marionettes) from being revealed. We've seen some of that now, but I expect that if the threat of exposure gets really serious - like their connections into the intelligence community - we're going to see a much more aggressive tone on the part of the bought media and the made men in politics.

Edited to add: And we should keep an eye out for unexpected deaths, like that of Sean Hoare in the UK.

[Autumn Colors]

6. As the story jumps the pond?

LOL. I seriously doubt the extent of this will be fully reported in US mainstream media.

[GliderGuider]

7. Maybe, maybe not.

We'll just have to see. If Congress investigates, the media have to cover it one way or another. The question is, how many American pols have already been purchased?

The thing that gives me nightmares is the possible depth of the penetration of corporatist influence into government. The latest Tea Party victory in the debt ceiling vote knocked the wind out of my hope for change. I suspect the suborning of Congress (and some of the Executive Branch?) is a lot further along that we would like to admit.

I think things are about to turn extremely serious - especially if Nick Davies flies home to Britain with bulging notebooks.

[FiveGoodMen]

12. "the media have to cover it one way or another"

And the media will cover Congress' ass as it covers up the evidence and lets the perps walk.

[GliderGuider]

13. A lot of it is up to Congress. If their hearings were as good as the Brits'

just the live TV feed would force the media's hand. That's why I wonder how deep the rot has gone in Congress. There may be very few uncorrupted members left with the seniority and gravitas to lead committees. The hearings could be a whitewash, or the whole process could just get derailed and hearings wouldn't happen.

If we're really lucky we'll find out they have in fact hacked the relatives of 9/11 victims. Nobody could afford to get caught on the wrong side of that one.

[Sherman A1]

8. As one wise person once told me

"Just because their a thief (and in this case they very much are thieves) don't make ya smart." Sometimes they just screw up or overreach through hubris.

[GliderGuider]

9. From your lips to God's ear...

:thumbsup:

[krispos42]

10. If they hacked voice mails, they almost certainly hacked emails, too.

And if you can hack an email account, you can probably get to most of their other information such as bank records and phone records.

Breaking and entering to do investigations of people's private lives is also entirely possible... most people live in homes that can be gotten into without leaving a trace, as long as the intruder doesn't touch anything.

:shrug:

It will be most entertaining.


Of course, I have no doubt that lots of companies do this as well, but they are either very discreet or use bribes, threats, and blackmail to keep this information quiet.

[GliderGuider]

11. All the shit we were afraid of with Adm. John Poindexter and TIA?

It happened.

These are the sorts of stories that reporters kill to get, and then are killed for getting.