I warned you about Andy Coulson, Tom Watson tells Prime Minister
The MP who helped expose the hacking scandal at the News of the World today said there were 'legitimate' questions about the Prime Minister's judgment in hiring its former editor as his spin doctor.
And Tom Watson revealed the contents of a letter he wrote to David Cameron in 2010 urging him to investigate allegations that Andy Coulson had been involved in phone hacking.
Coulson was convicted of a conspiracy to hack phones following an eight-month trial. After leaving the News of the World in 2007 he became Mr Cameron's communications chief and continued in the role after the Tory leader became Prime Minister. But Coulson now faces a jail term and Mr Cameron has apologised for taking him on.
Mr Justice Saunders heavily criticised the Prime Minister for doing so. At the time, the jury was still deliberating on two remaining counts against Coulson of allegedly conspiring with former royal editor Clive Goodman to commit misconduct in a public office in relation to paying police officers for two royal phone directories.
Jurors have now been discharged because they failed to reach verdicts on the final charges.
Mr Watson, MP for West Bromwich East, was a leading member of the Culture and Media Select Committee whose investigation led to the setting up of the Leveson Inquiry into press standards.
He said: "Now we know David Cameron took a criminal into Downing Street there are legitimate questions about his judgment. I was one of many people who warned him about the potential consequences of hiring Andy Coulson."
His letter to Mr Cameron, dated October 4 2010, followed allegations on Channel 4's Dispatches that Coulson had known about hacking. Mr Watson wrote: "The allegations are new, far reaching and warrant investigation." He said it cast doubt on Coulson's statement to the committee that he 'never condoned the use of phone hacking and nor do I have any recollection of incidences where phone hacking took place'.
The letter also said that if such allegations were made against a minister they would be forced to stand down during an investigation.
"We are now at the point where I firmly believe you should consider a similar course of action with regards to Mr Coulson's conduct."
