"Labour Together paid APCO Worldwide at least 30,000 to "investigate the sourcing, funding and origins" of a Sunday Times story about undeclared donations at the think tank ahead of the 2024 election. The US public affairs firm's report included information about journalist Gabriel Pogrund's Jewish beliefs and claims about his ideological position."
"A contract addressed to Simons, seen by the BBC, also agreed to investigate journalist Paul Holden and Matt Taibbi, an American reporter. The report claimed that Pogrund's previous reporting, including on the Royal Family, "could be seen as destabilising to the UK and also in the interests of Russia's strategic foreign policy objectives"."
"Simons said in his letter that he "never sought to smear" the Guardian and Sunday Times journalists investigated by APCO Worldwide, and paid tribute to their work. Sir Keir said he had accepted the resignation "with sadness", adding that ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus found Simons had not breached the ministerial code."
Labour MP Josh Simons resigned as Cabinet Office minister following an ethics investigation initiated by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. The investigation concerned a report commissioned by Labour Together, the think tank Simons previously ran, which was conducted by US public affairs firm APCO Worldwide. The report investigated journalists from the Guardian and Sunday Times, including details about Gabriel Pogrund's Jewish beliefs and claims about his ideological position. APCO Worldwide also investigated journalists Paul Holden and Matt Taibbi. Although ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus found Simons had not breached the ministerial code, Simons stated he had become a distraction from government work. Prime Minister Starmer accepted the resignation with sadness.
Read at www.bbc.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]