Cabinet Office minister and Greater Manchester MP Josh Simons is to be investigated over allegations that while at a think tank hired lobbyists who ended up investigating the personal and religious background of a Sunday Times journalist.
The allegations concern his time at the Think Tank Labour Together
The Ashton in Makerfield MP was the director of Labour Together in 2023 when it commissioned an investigation by PR consultancy Apco Worldwide into the “backgrounds and motivations” of reporters who had written stories about it.
Simons yesterday accidently announced the news on a Labour MPs’ WhatsApp group: “Jonny rang. PM will ask Laurie to look into it. Aim is to move fast.”
Keir Starmer has asked Sir Laurie Magnus, the government’s ethics watchdog, to investigate the claims
