Labour Together ‘making clean break’ after former director resigns as minister

Thinktank’s board distances itself from Josh Simons’ decision in 2023 to hire lobbying firm to investigate journalists

A Labour thinkthank that helped Keir Starmer win No 10 has said it is making a “clean break” from the past after its former director, Josh Simons, resigned as a minister over a report falsely linking journalists to a “pro-Kremlin” network.

The board of Labour Together distanced itself from Simons’ decision in 2023 to hire a lobbying firm to investigate Sunday Times, Guardian and independent reporters who were looking into its failure to declare more than £700,000 in donations.

Simons, who led Labour Together at the time and commissioned the £36,000 report, stepped down as a Cabinet Office minister on Saturday over the scandal that falsely claimed the journalists were linked to pro-Kremlin propaganda.

However, Labour Together’s activities remain under scrutiny, with the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, saying Starmer should cut ties with the thinktank and return its donations.