Josh Simons, the Labour MP for Makerfield, has resigned as a Cabinet Office minister after it emerged he falsely linked journalists to a 'pro-Kremlin' network in emails to GCHQ. The Guardian revealed that Simons had claimed to be 'surprised' and 'furious' about a PR firm's investigation into reporters, but had personally commissioned and reviewed the report.
Simons, who previously ran the thinktank Labour Together, quit on Saturday, stating his position had become 'a distraction from this government’s important work'. The resignation followed mounting pressure over his role in Labour Together's commissioning of the lobbying firm APCO to investigate journalists reporting on the thinktank's failure to disclose political donations.
The prime minister's independent adviser on ministerial standards, Sir Laurie Magnus, conducted a formal investigation. Magnus concluded that Simons had not breached the ministerial code, but noted a 'distraction and potential reputational damage' in Simons remaining in government.
In his resignation letter to Sir Keir Starmer, Simons said he had commissioned APCO in November 2023 to investigate whether confidential material had been disclosed through a hack of the Electoral Commission. The contract, worth £36,000, aimed to investigate the sourcing of a Sunday Times article about Labour Together and publications by freelance journalist Paul Holden and American reporter Matt Taibbi.
Simons told Magnus that the terms of reference were 'wider than he had understood' and that he acted 'too hastily'. Magnus said Simons acknowledged that the gap between his public statements and the actual scope of the investigation had been damaging. Accepting the resignation, Starmer emphasised that journalists must be able to work 'without fear or favour'.
Labour Together chair Sally Morgan described the report's scope as 'indefensible' and said governance changes were underway, including an audit and risk committee and a whistleblower policy. The Guardian also revealed that Simons and his chief of staff had emailed the National Cyber Security Centre, naming Sunday Times journalists Gabriel Pogrund and Harry Yorke and suggesting their story could be linked to a Russian disinformation campaign.
