Labour Minister Received Intelligence Files on Journalists from Pro-Starmer Thinktank
A Labour minister serving in the Cabinet Office was personally provided with intelligence files compiled on journalists who had been investigating the very thinktank that played a crucial role in propelling Sir Keir Starmer to power, the Guardian can reveal.
According to multiple sources, Josh Simons, now a minister in the Cabinet Office, was directly given the documents when he chaired Labour Together. The files contained detailed reports produced by the global public relations firm APCO Worldwide.
Targeting Journalists and Their Sources
The intelligence material focused on journalists from several major news outlets, including the Guardian and the Sunday Times, who had reported on financial irregularities within Labour Together's funding. APCO's investigation reportedly sought not only to analyse the journalists' work but also to identify their confidential sources.
Sources have confirmed that Simons received a personal briefing from APCO on its final report, which included findings drawn from a close examination of the journalists who had investigated the thinktank. This disclosure about Simons' direct knowledge of the private surveillance operation presents a significant new challenge for Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his most senior aide, Morgan McSweeney.
Close Ties to Downing Street
The revelations come after a difficult week for both Starmer and McSweeney, who have already faced calls for their resignation over separate matters. Morgan McSweeney had previously run Labour Together before becoming Starmer's chief of staff, and the thinktank remained closely allied with the Labour leader after Simons took charge.
Two separate sources told the Guardian that McSweeney maintained intimate involvement with Labour Together's strategy even after his formal departure. "There was never any distance between Labour Together and Morgan, even after he left," one source stated.
Growing Calls for Investigation
The news has prompted strong reactions from within the Labour Party itself. Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell described the investigation into journalists as "truly shocking" in a letter to the party's general secretary. McDonnell warned that if the reports were accurate, the organisation and its operators were "bringing our party into disrepute."
Labour MP Kim Johnson was even more direct, stating that "what's been exposed shows McSweeney's operation is rotten to the core." She added: "We're told the adults are in the room. If this is their idea of leadership, No 10 needs gutting from top to bottom."
Background of Funding Irregularities
Questions about Labour Together's finances first emerged in February 2021 when the thinktank's interim leadership reported itself to the Electoral Commission for the late reporting of £740,000 in donations. The organisation was subsequently fined £14,250 in September 2021.
A November 2023 investigation by the Sunday Times alleged that it was Morgan McSweeney who had failed to declare the donations between 2017 and 2020. This undeclared money is said to have funded polling and campaigning activities that directly supported Starmer's rise to the Labour leadership.
Scope of the Intelligence Gathering
Internal reports prepared by APCO for Labour Together specifically named journalists from multiple outlets as "significant persons of interest," including:
- Gabriel Pogrund and Harry Yorke from the Sunday Times
- Henry Dyer from the Guardian
- John McEvoy from Declassified UK
The investigation aimed to "identify the source of the information and to ascertain what additional information could be published" by journalists about Labour Together. APCO's research included a comprehensive examination of stories and social media posts written by the targeted journalists.
Questions Over Ministerial Role
Simons' receipt of APCO's research – which focused specifically on journalists conducting public interest investigations into the finances of the thinktank he led – has raised serious questions about his current role as a Cabinet Office minister. The Democracy for Sale publication has alleged that Labour Together paid APCO at least £30,000 to identify the source of stories about its funding.
One person who has previously worked with Labour Together called the decision to hire investigators "bizarre," adding: "I've never come across anything like it in my political life." Another source simply described it as "weird."
As pressure mounts, one Labour MP summarised the growing sentiment within parliamentary circles: "If the prime minister wants to regain the support of the parliamentary Labour party, he has got to get Morgan the hell out of the party. Otherwise he will end up bringing it into disrepute."
Neither Josh Simons nor Tom Harper, the former Sunday Times journalist who led APCO's work, responded to requests for comment. Labour Together also declined to comment on the revelations.
