Makerfield MP Josh Simons under investigation over ‘campaign to smear journalists’
Josh Simons, the Labour MP for Makerfield, is under investigation after claims he tried to smear journalists who had reported on undeclared donations at a political group he used to run.
The allegations relate to Labour Together, a pro-Labour organisation that helped Sir Keir Starmer become Labour leader. In 2023, the think tank paid the US public relations firm APCO Worldwide at least £30,000 to investigate a Sunday Times story about undeclared donations at the group ahead of the 2024 general election. The report also looked into the journalists behind the story.
Simons has said the company “went beyond” what he had asked for and described claims he wanted to investigate journalists personally as “nonsense.” He says he had only asked APCO to look into a suspected illegal hack.
The issue has now been referred to Sir Laurie Magnus, the Prime Minister’s independent adviser on ministerial standards, to determine whether Simons breached the Ministerial Code. The adviser can only investigate Simons’ actions as a serving minister, not what happened at Labour Together before he became an MP. The Prime Minister requested the probe after the Cabinet Office’s propriety and ethics team reported the facts to him.
Labour MPs have welcomed the investigation, though some, including John McDonnell, have called for a wider inquiry into Labour Together itself. Conservative shadow chancellor Alex Burghart described the report as a “spurious” attempt to smear journalists and said it looked like an effort to intimidate them for reporting a breach of electoral law.
Simons denies any wrongdoing. No conclusions have been published and no disciplinary action has been taken.
Who is Josh Simons?
Josh Simons was born in 1993 and attended The Perse School in Cambridge. He studied social and political sciences at St John’s College, Cambridge, and completing postgraduate studies at Harvard University. Before becoming an MP in July 2024, he ran Labour Together, a political research and strategy group advising the Labour Party.
He now represents Makerfield in Parliament, a constituency he says he is proud to serve, covering Hindley and Hindley Green, Abram, Platt Bridge, Ashton, Bryn, Winstanley, Worsley Mesnes, Orrell, and Pickley Green.
