Cabinet Office minister Josh Simons has resigned after it emerged that he had ordered an investigation into journalists who had revealed undeclared funding by his former thinktank Labour Together. Simons, who had falsely linked reporters to a “pro-Kremlin” network in emails to GCHQ, resigned yesterday, saying he had “become a distraction from this government’s important work”.
In November 2023, Simons paid PR firm Apco £36,000 to examine the “backgrounds and motivations” of journalists who had reported that the Keir Starmer-backing group failed to declare £730,000 of donations.
The investigation, into Sunday Times journalists Gabriel Pogrund, Harry Yorke and the Guardian’s Henry Dyer among others, was delivered to Simons in January 2024. The report sought – without evidence –to portray Pogrund and Yorke as part of a Russian campaign to damage Starmer. It also made reference to Pogrund’s Jewish background.
As first revealed by The Observer earlier this week, the prime minister referred the matter to his independent ethics adviser Laurie Magnus, following an initial probe by the Cabinet Office. Magnus concluded that Simons had not breached the ministerial code, but said Starmer “will wish to consider, in the light of this distraction and potential reputational damage, whether he continues to hold your confidence as a member of your government”.
In his resignation letter to the prime minister, Simons praised the three journalists, saying: “With rigour and objectivity, they hold those in positions of power to account.”
However, he defended his actions, saying: “I feared the narratives that this confidential material would be used to push ahead of an election campaign.”
Starmer thanked Simons for his time as a minister but stressed: “It is essential that journalists are able to carry out their work without fear or favour.”
Photograph by Roger Harris/UK Parliament
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