"In late 2023, Labour Together was ascendant. Under Keir Starmer, the group's anointed torchbearer, Labour had a double-digit lead in the polls. Morgan McSweeney, the man who built Labour Together, was preparing Starmer for government with great hopes of cleaning up politics. Now McSweeney is out of a job, Labour Together is mired in controversy and Starmer faces urgent questions about what he knew and when."
"APCO was paid 36,000 to dig up this dirt. The work was led by former Sunday Times journalist Tom Harper, who suggested, without evidence, that the journalists' reporting may have originated in a leak orchestrated by Russia or China. Labour Together did not keep these insinuations to itself. It passed some of APCO's material to the security services, raising serious questions about whether public authorities were drawn into an effort to discredit legitimate journalism."
In late 2023 Labour Together enjoyed political momentum under Keir Starmer, with Labour holding a double-digit poll lead. Morgan McSweeney, who built Labour Together, lost his job amid controversy over undeclared funds. Between 2017 and 2020 McSweeney failed to declare 730,000 in political donations to the organisation, an omission described as an administrative error. In 2023, under Josh Simons's leadership, the group hired APCO Worldwide and paid 36,000 to investigate the story's origins and to collect material on journalists. APCO's work suggested, without evidence, possible foreign involvement and some material was passed to security services, prompting urgent questions about public authorities' involvement in efforts to discredit journalism.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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