Politics
PM Set Tp Ask Independent Adviser To Investigate Minister Over Think Tank Allegations
(Alamy)
2 min read
Keir Starmer is looking at asking his independent ethics adviser to investigate whether minister Josh Simons breached the ministerial code over his role in allegations surrounding the think tank that he used to head.
The Prime Minister is considering whether to ask Sir Laurie Magnus to assess whether rules have been breached by Cabinet Office minister Simons, who is currently the subject of an internal investigation by his department, PoliticsHome understands.
Simons, elected at the 2024 general election, is accused of asking a public affairs firm to investigate journalists writing about Labour Together while he was head of the Labour-aligned think tank.
Simons has said APCO Worldwide had “gone beyond” what it had been asked to do when it pursued “unnecessary” personal information about Sunday Times journalist Gabriel Pogrund.
The PR company had agreed to look at “the sourcing, funding and origins” of reporting by the newspaper about the think tank’s failure to declare political donations.
The Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Reform UK have all called for Simons to resign from his ministerial position while he is being investigated.
Kevin Hollinrake, chair of the Tories, has said a Cabinet Office investigation into Simons is not sufficient because the department “cannot be left to mark its own homework”.
A group of Labour backbenchers had called on Downing Street to launch an independent investigation into the allegations.
When he ordered the Cabinet Office investigation, which is being led by the government’s propriety and ethics team, Starmer said he “didn’t know anything” about the APCO Worldwide report.
The Guardian later reported that Simons named Pogrund and fellow journalist Paul Holden to British security officials and falsely linked them to pro-Russia propaganda.
More follows…
