"Between 2022 and his election as a Labour MP in 2024, Simons ran Labour Together, which supported Starmer's leadership campaign. Its founder, Morgan McSweeney, served as Starmer's chief of staff until his resignation earlier this month for his role in appointing former US ambassador Peter Mandelson, under fire for exchanges released in the Epstein Files. In 2023, Labour Together commissioned US public affairs outfit APCO Worldwide to investigate Sunday Times journalists who wrote about the think tank's failure to declare £730,000 (c $990k) in donations, according to the newspaper."
"The think tank passed a version of the report, without the information on Pogrund, to GCHQ's National Cyber Security Centre, which decided against launching a full inquiry. Simons told the paper that he was "surprised and shocked" that APCO Worldwide had included "unnecessary information" on the journalist, which he asked to be removed before he passed the report to GCHQ."
Josh Simons, the Cabinet Office minister overseeing the UK digital identity programme, is under investigation by the government's propriety and ethics team for actions while running Labour Together. Between 2022 and his 2024 election, he led Labour Together, which supported Keir Starmer's leadership bid. In 2023 Labour Together hired APCO Worldwide to investigate Sunday Times journalists who reported an undeclared £730,000 in donations. The APCO report suggested use of hacked emails and referenced a reporter's Jewish identity. Labour Together passed a redacted report to GCHQ's National Cyber Security Centre, which declined a full inquiry. Simons says he was surprised and asked for unnecessary information to be removed.
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