John McDonnell Backs Tom Watson Over Role In VIP Abuse Investigation

5 October 2019, 11:44

John McDonnell has backed Tom Watson amid calls for him to resign over his role in a police investigation into sexual abuse claims.

Harvey Proctor, who was wrongly accused in Operation Midland, has called for Tom Watson "to leave the public arena for his part in promoting the false claims of a VIP paedophile ring at Westminster."

Matt Frei asked: "Do you think he overstepped his line there? Do you think he was acting irresponsibly? Should there have been more due diligence from Tom Watson when he weighed in with those accusations?"

McDonnell replied: "We haven't seen the full report so we can't judge that but Tom has made it clear he's acted with the best of intentions and with the information that he had before him."

Matt then asked: That's not a full-throated endorsement of his position, is it? I don't see 100% support for Tom Watson in that answer."

McDonnell said: "It is. What you're seeing 100% support in that Tom did what he thought was best. He acted with the best of motions and intentions and that's all someone can do. We'll see the full details of the report and Tom will respond accordingly."