Labour minister being probed by Keir Starmer’s ethics tsar over his think-tank’s ‘dirty dossier’ attack on journalists
A Labor minister is currently being investigated by Sir Keir Starmer’s ethics tsar for his alleged role in a ‘smear campaign’ targeting journalists.
Cabinet Office minister Josh Simons will be investigated by Sir Laurie Magnus, the Prime Minister’s independent adviser on ministerial standards.
Sir Laurie’s investigation was announced on Monday, just hours after Downing Street said Sir Keir continued to have full confidence in Mr Simons.
Mr Simons, who is also the Labor MP for Makerfield, faces questions about his time as head of the Labor Together think tank between 2022 and 2024.
The group that helped elect Sir Keir as Labor leader is said to have hired a PR firm to investigate journalists reporting on its funds.
APCO Worldwide was reportedly paid £36,000 in 2023 to examine reporters’ personal, political and religious ‘backgrounds and motivations’.
The investigation is said to follow the publication of stories about Labor Together’s failure to declare donations of more than £700,000.
A 58-page dossier prepared by APCO reportedly contains pages of highly personal and unfounded allegations about the Sunday Times’ Whitehall editor, Gabriel Pogrund.
The Prime Minister’s Chief Secretary Darren Jones told the House of Commons on Monday that Sir Keir had asked Sir Laurie to investigate Mr Simons following the conclusion of an investigative study by the Cabinet Office’s etiquette and ethics team (PET).
Mr Jones said the Prime Minister would ‘make a decision’ about Mr Simons’ future after taking advice from Sir Laurie. He told MPs Sir Laurie’s advice would ‘come true very soon’.
A Labor minister is being investigated by Sir Keir Starmer’s ethics tsar for his alleged role in a ‘smear campaign’ targeting journalists
Cabinet Office minister Josh Simons (pictured) will be investigated by Sir Laurie Magnus, the Prime Minister’s independent adviser on ministerial standards
Senior Tory MP Alex Burghart, shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said it was “hard to see” Mr Simons’ position was defensible.
“This appears to all intents and purposes to be a deliberate attempt to denigrate and intimidate journalists whose only crime was to report that Labor Together had breached electoral law,” he said of the allegations against Mr Simons.
It was previously reported that Mr Simons mistakenly messaged details of his case to a WhatsApp group of Labor MPs.
In an apparent reference to Labor Chief Jonathan Reynolds, he is said to have written: ‘Jonny called, will ask Prime Minister Laurie to look into the matter. The goal is to move quickly. But PET realized I hadn’t cracked the code.’
Mr Simons, a strong ally of Sir Keir, has previously said it was ‘absurd’ to claim he wanted to investigate journalists.
He also claimed he was ‘surprised and shocked’ by APCO’s decision to include ‘unnecessary information’ about Mr Pogrund because it ‘extended beyond the contract’.
But leaked details of the contract confirmed APCO had been asked to investigate the ‘source, funding and origins’ of a newspaper article about Labor Together’s donations.
In a confirmation letter sent to Mr Simons, the firm promised to ‘provide a body of evidence that can be packaged for use in the media’.
Mr Simons also allegedly passed on the findings of the investigation to the National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) and suggested it investigate whether Labor Together had been targeted by a Russian operation to undermine Sir Keir.
A spokesman for Mr Simons denied the allegations. They said, ‘These allegations are not true.’
The allegations have piled pressure on Mr Simons, who has faced calls to resign.
More than 20 Labor MPs have written to Labor general secretary Hollie Ridley and the Prime Minister demanding an independent investigation into Labor Together’s actions.
In a letter he saw TelegramMPs said: ‘We note our concerns that any investigation carried out or overseen by Government departments involving individuals with past or present links to Labor Together risks undermining public confidence, regardless of the final findings.
‘Even the perception of bias can cause lasting damage to trust in our democratic institutions.’
They added: ‘At a time when trust in politics remains fragile, it is imperative that these allegations are dealt with in a way that upholds the highest standards of integrity and accountability.’
Rachael Maskell, Labor MP for York Central, one of the signatories of the letter, said: ‘It is vital that we defend the freedom of journalists and I am appalled that Labor Together is trying to undermine them.
‘Only an independent investigation can provide confidence. ‘I want honesty and transparency at the heart of policy so that the Cabinet Office cannot investigate the Labor Party together when its former director remains a minister in the Cabinet Office.’
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘Journalism and a free press are the foundation of every democracy and every reporter should be able to do their job without fear of favoritism.
‘It is true that there was an internal process carried out by officials in the PET team to establish the facts of the matter.’
Asked whether Sir Keir continues to have full confidence in Mr Simons, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said: ‘Yes.’
Labor Together was fined £14,250 in September 2021 for late reporting of donations after it referred itself to the Electoral Commission; these fines totaled £730,000 between 2017 and 2020.
APCO said it had carried out a ‘detailed internal review of the project’.
