PM orders probe into think tank's investigation of journalists

The prime minister has instructed the Cabinet Office to investigate claims that Labour Together hired a public affairs firm last year to examine the origins and sourcing of reporting about the group, ministers said today. The move follows revelations that the contract included work scrutinising individual journalists and their reporting.

Internal documents and sources familiar with the matter show that in 2023 Labour Together contracted APCO Worldwide to "investigate the sourcing, funding and origins" of a November 2023 report about undeclared donations and other journalistic inquiries into the think tank. Accounts of the payment differ: officials say the firm was paid at least £30,000, while other records put the sum at £36,000. APCO has said it is "in the process of undertaking a detailed internal review of the project."

Sources familiar with APCO's material told reporters the work included probing named journalists, and in at least one instance compiled material about a reporter's religious beliefs and ideological position. Those sources said the document suggested some past reporting "could be seen as destabilising to the UK and also in the interests of Russia's strategic foreign policy objectives." The full APCO product has not been publicly released and the firm says it is reviewing the project.

The episode has intensified scrutiny of Josh Simons, who commissioned and reviewed the research while director of Labour Together and is now a Labour MP and Cabinet Office minister. Documents show the agreement for the work was addressed to him and that he requested lines of inquiry including the sourcing for a book and related articles by other journalists. Opposition parties and some MPs have demanded clarity on whether his prior role creates a conflict given his current ministerial brief.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said the Cabinet Office "will be looking at the facts" and stressed the wider stakes: "It is absolutely essential that we protect the freedom of the press." She added that Mr Simons "has welcomed the investigation, rightly so, by the regulatory body, the body responsible for regulating public affairs."

John McDonnell, secretary of the National Union of Journalists parliamentary group, told broadcasters he has repeatedly pressed Labour's leadership for action. "I’ve written four times now to the general secretary of the Labour Party, including to Keir Starmer, to say this is serious, launch an investigation, but that’s not happened," he said, adding he had copied the party leader into each request and described the allegations as unacceptable if true.

The Conservative Party has demanded immediate answers. Its chair wrote to the Labour Party chair calling for an independent probe of Mr Simons and other directors associated with Labour Together and urged that engagement with the think tank be suspended "until all allegations have been independently investigated." The letter concluded: "Once again, the government is distracted from the serious challenges facing our country."

The controversy touches on two intersecting concerns: the use of public affairs resources to investigate journalists and the risks posed when ministers previously aligned with outside organisations are involved in sensitive inquiries. Key questions remain unresolved, including the precise scope of APCO’s assignment, the provenance of the material compiled about reporters, the exact payment figure and whether the APCO work identified or targeted sources.

For now, the Cabinet Office inquiry and APCO's internal review are the immediate next steps. Journalists' groups and civil society organisations have signalled they will press for full disclosure of documents and for assurances that safeguards will protect press freedom while any regulatory or disciplinary processes proceed.