Tom Watson was a Labour MP who played a key role in exposing the phone-hacking scandal at the News of the World. In October 2012, Watson asked Prime Minister [[David Cameron]] in parliament to investigate evidence of "a powerful paedophile network linked to parliament and No 10." Watson specifically referenced the [[Peter Righton]] dossier from 1992, believing it contained evidence of the VIP pedophile network. He stated that he believed the file, if it still existed, would provide some evidence of this powerful network connected to the highest levels of British government. Watson's parliamentary question represented a significant moment in bringing historical child abuse allegations back into public scrutiny and official investigation.[^1] ### Role in Launching Operation Fernbridge Watson's parliamentary question helped trigger the launch of [[Operation Fernbridge]] in February 2013, which investigated allegations of child abuse at [[Elm Guest House]] by prominent politicians and VIPs. The Metropolitan Police Service planned to hold a press conference soon after launching the investigation, with Tom Watson described as "the campaigning MP" who was scheduled to appear alongside Met Commander Peter Spindler and a representative of the NSPCC, the charity aimed at preventing cruelty to children. [^1] Watson specifically requested that "a dossier of information used in 1992 to convict a notorious paedophile called Peter Righton was examined thoroughly." Peter Righton had been a social services director and the top UK government adviser on child protection services who was arrested after customs officials intercepted child pornography addressed to him from Amsterdam. Righton had been a member of the Pedophile Information Exchange named in the VIP pedophile dossier from 1983 that [[Geoffrey Dickens]] handed to Home Secretary [[Leon Brittan]].[^1] ### Footnotes [^1]: Dovey, S. (2023). Eye of the Chickenhawk. United States: Thehotstar.