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Watson Defends Actions Over Brittan Rape Claims

Deputy Labour leader Tom Watson has insisted it was his duty to report allegations of child abuse that centred on former home secretary Lord Brittan.

Having faced intense criticism this week, Mr Watson wrote in a blog: "My motivation throughout has been to help victims as best as I could.

"I had been told of multiple allegations about Lord Brittan and I had met some of the people making those allegations at their request.

"I did not and could not know if they were true but I did believe their claims should be fully investigated."

One woman's claim of rape from 1967 was examined by the Metropolitan Police but officers could not find evidence that would lead to further action.

The police have written a letter of apology to Lord Brittan's widow apologising for not offering "clarity" over the status of their investigation sooner.

Lord Brittan, who was Conservative home secretary under Margaret Thatcher, died in January without being told that the case was dropped.

His brother, Sir Samuel Brittan, told Sky News that Mr Watson had gone too far: "I think he would do better to finding policy for Labour rather than scraping around for tittle tattle."

"He should apologise for any allegations that are known to be untrue. He should take a vow of silence for the next year."

Mr Watson was also criticised for the language he used in the days after Lord Brittan's death. He responded saying: "As the tributes flowed in from his lifelong friends I felt for those people who claimed he abused them.

"I repeated a line used by one of the alleged survivors, who said: 'He is close to evil as any human being could get'. I shouldn't have repeated such an emotive phrase."

Mr Watson added: "The choice facing anyone who is presented with testimony of this kind is whether to pass it on to the authorities and urge them to investigate or to ignore it. I chose the first option. I felt it was my duty to do so."

Lord Owen, who was a senior Labour politician at the same time as Lord Brittan, said describing the Conservative peer as "evil" was nonsense.

He said: "That's obviously nonsense. He isn't close to evil. I think he (Watson) was quoting somebody else but I don't know the facts.

"Child abuse is a very serious issue and we have to be ready to examine it very carefully as it has been covered up in the past."

Metropolitan Police inquiries are still ongoing in relation to child abuse linked to Westminster in the 1970s and 80s.

The IPCC is examining 29 separate allegations of police misconduct from that era - many are related to politicians being protected from prosecution over child abuse.