Harry Potter author JK Rowling in £4,000 boost for Tom Watson's deputy leadership bid
Bestselling author JK Rowling has given her backing to West Bromwich MP Tom Watson in his bid to become Labour's new deputy leader after it emerged she donated £4,000 to his campaign.
The woman behind the Harry Potter novels pledged the amount in May, according to a declaration by Mr Watson on his register of members' interests.
It is believed to be the first time Rowling has donated money to an individual politician and will come as a major boost to Mr Watson's hopes of becoming Labour's second in command.
The pair are believed to have got to know each other during the campaign to uncover phone hacking at the News of the World. Both were witnesses at the Leveson inquiry into press intrusion.
A crowdfunding effort to raise £25,000 by Mr Watson, the MP for West Bromwich East since 2001, last month already stands at almost £19,000.
Watson's critics from the right of the party have claimed that he is too close to the Unite union and it's leader, Len McCluskey.
He quit as deputy chair of the party in July 2013 following the row over the selection of a Labour candidate for Falkirk.
Rowling donated £1m last June to the campaign against Scottish independence after warning that it could be a 'historically bad mistake' to leave the UK.
She said she believes Scotland is an 'exceptional' country but is convinced that independence would carry serious economic risks, damaging funding for the world-class medical research she has supported with multimillion-pound donations after her mother's death from multiple sclerosis.
A spokesman for Watson said: "Tom's delighted that JK Rowling has made a generous donation to his deputy leadership campaign.
"She is obviously a hugely talented and successful author but she is also a tireless campaigner for a range of charities and causes, particularly those that work on behalf of women and children around the world."
