Tom Watson is in demand. Radio Four wants to speak to him, and so does the New York Times.Hes a member of the culture, media and sport select committee, which is preparing to re-open its inquiry into phone hacking next week.And hes become known for hard-hitting interventions in the House of Commons, where he once warned that powerful forces are involved in a cover-up of phone hacking.

But when I met the Black Country MP in his House of Commons office, what delayed our interview was something quite different.

A source had phoned up with fresh information about the inner workings of Rupert Murdochs empire.

Because Tom Watson (Lab West Bromwich East) hasnt just been making speeches about the callous behaviour of News of the World.

Hes helped to uncover it through detailed detective work which has dominated his life for the past two years.

He said: I have probably worked on this aspect every single day for two years, sometimes 12 hours a day.

And since I have been high profile since I have been identified with the issue there are a number of whistleblowers and victims that have started to talk to me.

In fact, Ive picked up quite a few more this week, some of whom used to work for News of the World until very recently.

They either point me in the right direction, recommend the questions that need to be asked, or in some cases give me evidence or show me evidence.

Mr Watson, who is sharing information he obtains with the police, warns that there are more shocks to come, following reports that News of the World hacked the phone of missing teenager Milly Dowler before her body was discovered.

He said: I dont think it could get more shocking to parents than hacking the phone of a child that had been abducted and then murdered.

Do I think we have seen the whole of the story and the scale of it? Absolutely not.

If you told me we were halfway through it, Id be surprised. There are still numerous other private investigators who I think will be of great interest to the authorities.

There will be banks of evidence, a financial trail, linked to them.

And weve not even begun to look at the different technologies used for covert surveillance.

Reports have already suggested News International journalists used technology that would allow them to establish the location of any individual from their mobile phone.

But Mr Watson said: I know of other technologies that people would be interested in, like tracker devices on cars and scanners. A scanner is a sort of black box, you put it on in a room and it takes all the data of every mobile phone in the room. I think theres a lot more to come out.

But events have already moved swiftly since it emerged on July 4 that News of the World hacked the phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler while police were searching for her.

The newspaper closed down, following an online campaign encouraging readers and advertisers to boycott the paper. Ford, Vauxhall, Lloyds Banking Group and Virgin Holidays were among the big-name firms announcing they were suspending advertising.

And MPs spoke out against Rupert Murdoch and his newspaper group, News International, in a way many had been afraid to in the past.

It led to an unprecedented Commons vote when MPs from all parties united to oppose News Corps plans to buy the 61 per cent of BSkyB it doesnt already own.

For Mr Watson, who once warned that politicians were scared of the press barons, its a hugely significant change which alters the way Parliament does business for the better.

It now seems like the parable of the Emperors clothes, he said.

Everybody now knows that Rupert Murdoch owned too much of the media and was too powerful. The political classes have all admitted they were too scared, the police admitted inadequacy in their inquiry probably because they didnt want to jeopardise their relationship with the media.

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