News International phone hacking scandal was announced that former parliamentary commissioner for standards Elizabeth Filkin would "recommend changes to links between the police and the media, including how to extend transparency." It was revealed that both John Whittingdale and Tom Watson may need to speak to James Murdoch again as the Commons culture select committee about recalling James Murdoch. An MP has released a letter from the now jailed journalist, alleging senior "News of the World" figures knew that the hacking scandal was going on, when the former royal editor, Clive Goodman, wrote his letter to News International as he appealed against his dismissal in
2009–2011 News of the World phone hacking scandal investigations in bringing the revelations about phone hacking into the open. Watson was concerned by alleged press misconduct, as were his colleagues Chris Bryant, the MP for Rhondda, Khalid Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, and Sion Simon, then MP for Birmingham Erdington. Watson joined the Culture, Media and Sport Committee in 2009, under the chairmanship of Conservative MP John Whittingdale, specifically to pose questions to leading figures in News International about the ethics at both "The Sun" and the "News of the World," and allowing him to quiz Andy Coulson, who was director of communications for the Conservative Party, about