Minister Under Investigation Makes Late Donation Declaration Amid Smear Probe
A Cabinet Office minister, already under investigation for his role in allegedly smearing journalists, has made a late declaration of personal donations, raising further questions about transparency and compliance with parliamentary rules.
Late Declaration of Gifts from Labour Donor
Newly released data reveals that Josh Simons received gifts totalling £1,250 from Trevor Chinn, a longstanding Labour donor, on 21 October and 4 December 2025. House of Commons regulations mandate that MPs must publicly declare cumulative donations exceeding £1,500 within 28 days of receipt. However, Simons did not declare these gifts until early February, missing the deadline by 32 days.
This late declaration adds to the mounting pressure on Simons, who is currently being investigated by the prime minister's independent adviser on ministerial standards. The probe centres on his involvement in commissioning a PR agency to examine journalists who had reported on £730,000 in undeclared donations to Labour Together, a thinktank he previously led.
Background of Donation Controversies
The donations from Chinn are particularly sensitive due to earlier issues involving Labour Together. In February 2021, the Electoral Commission launched an investigation into the thinktank for failing to declare £730,000 in donations within the required timeframe. Some of these donations, including over £120,000 from Chinn between 2017 and 2020, were declared years after they were made.
At the time, Labour Together attributed the failure to an "admin error," but the Electoral Commission later fined the group £14,250 for repeated breaches of political financing laws. The thinktank was run by Keir Starmer's former chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, during the period when these undeclared donations occurred.
Alleged Smear Campaign and Journalist Targeting
In November 2023, a Sunday Times article raised fresh concerns about the late declarations, noting how McSweeney had used Labour Together to support Starmer's 2020 Labour leadership campaign. In response, Simons, who by then was leading the thinktank, commissioned Apco, an American public affairs agency, to investigate two Sunday Times journalists and their sources.
After Apco completed its report in early 2024, Simons informed intelligence officials at the National Cyber Security Centre that he believed the information came from a hack of the Electoral Commission. He claimed that "our evidence" indicated it had been "disseminated to people known to be operating in a pro-Kremlin propaganda network with links to Russian intelligence."
However, freelance journalist Paul Holden, who provided documents for the original Sunday Times report, recently showed the Guardian his source materials. These documents suggest the story was based on files leaked from the Labour party by whistleblowers, contradicting Simons' allegations of foreign interference.
Responses and Further Developments
A spokesperson for Simons stated, "Labour Together commissioned Apco to investigate the information Paul Holden obtained for his book, as has repeatedly been made clear." When contacted about the late declaration of donations from Chinn, Simons did not provide additional comment.
A Labour party spokesperson addressed the issue, saying, "This donation was declared slightly late due to an administrative error. As soon as this error was identified, action was taken to contact the parliamentary registrar to ensure the declaration could be made. All declarations have now been made."
In related news, the latest data also shows that Trevor Chinn has given £2,500 to Angela Rayner "to assist in campaign activities," with this donation being declared on time, highlighting a contrast in compliance.
The ongoing investigations and late declarations underscore broader concerns about political funding transparency and the conduct of public officials, with Simons' case drawing particular attention due to its intersection with allegations of journalist targeting and smear campaigns.
