Labour MP Watson has alleged that he was approached last June by an "intermediary" from News International offering a deal that would have seen David Cameron's ex-spin doctor Andy Coulson sacrificed.

The book Dial M For Murdoch, co-written with journalist Martin Hickman and launched yesterday, says: "One told Watson the company would 'give him' Andy Coulson, but Rebekah Brooks was 'sacred', which Watson took to mean that the company would hand over incriminating evidence on Coulson if he laid off Brooks.

"He had no idea what evidence that might have been."

Read more at the Press Gazette