Plaid Cymru calls on Welsh Labour MPs to return controversial think tank donations

Jules Millward

A Plaid Cymru MP has called on Welsh Labour MPs to return tens of thousands of pounds received from the scandal-hit think tank Labour Together, following serious revelations about its conduct.

The Cabinet Office is “looking into” the conduct of the think tank after it was accused of paying a PR firm to investigate journalists reporting on its funding.

The organisation – previously led by Morgan McSweeney, who resigned last week as the Prime Minister’s chief of staff – was fined £14,250 by the Electoral Commission for 20 breaches of electoral law, including failures relating to undeclared donations.

Plaid Cymru MP for Ynys Môn, Llinos Medi, said that “a free press is fundamental to a healthy democracy”, and that “politicians who benefit financially from organisations accused of undermining journalistic scrutiny must reflect on what message that sends”.

Ms Medi added that an independent investigation should be undertaken into the affair, and that Josh Simons, the Cabinet Office minister who was head of Labour Together when the work into journalists was carried out, should “step aside as a minister in the meantime”.

Llinos Medi MP said: “Labour Together was fined for repeated breaches of electoral law, and serious questions have been raised about its conduct towards journalists. That should concern anyone who believes in a free press.

“A free press is fundamental to a healthy democracy. Any organisation accused of undermining journalistic scrutiny strikes at the heart of that principle. Politicians who benefit financially from organisations accused of undermining journalistic scrutiny must reflect on what message that sends.

“Cabinet Office minister Josh Simons is now facing serious questions over a probe into journalists while running Labour Together. The Cabinet Office surely shouldn’t be allowed to investigate itself. An independent inquiry is needed, and he should step aside as a minister in the meantime.

“Wales deserves politics that embraces the freedom of the press to scrutinise politicians. If Welsh Labour MPs are confident in their commitment to transparency, they should have no hesitation in returning funds linked to an organisation mired in controversy.”

The Welsh Labour MPs who have accepted donations from Labour Together are:

Gill German (Clwyd North) – £10,000

Claire Hughes (Bangor Aberconwy) – £10,000

Chris Elmore £10,000 (Bangor Aberconwy)

Nick Thomas-Symonds (Torfaen) – £14,874.32 + £20,647.44

Vale of Glamorgan MP Kanishka Narayan also worked for Labour Together.

Investigation

Sir Keir Starmer has denied knowledge of an investigation allegedly paid for by the think tank into journalists reporting on its funding.

The Prime Minister said he “didn’t know anything about” the probe, said to have been carried out by PR firm Apco Worldwide after it was hired by Labour Together following stories about the campaign group’s failure to declare more than £700,000 in donations.

Sir Keir confirmed that the Cabinet Office would be looking into the accusations “and quite right too”.

The Sunday Times said Apco was paid £36,000 to carry out the investigation in 2023, when the think tank was run by Josh Simons, now Labour MP for Makerfield and a Cabinet Office minister.

The Democracy For Sale newsletter previously published similar allegations.

Asked whether he would launch an inquiry into the accusations during a visit to a community centre in London on Monday, Sir Keir said: “There will be a Cabinet Office investigation into the allegations, and quite right too.

“I didn’t know anything about this investigation, and it absolutely needs to be looked into, so the Cabinet Office will be establishing the facts.”

Sources

Labour Together is said to have hired Apco Worldwide, which then allegedly investigated reporters from The Sunday Times, The Guardian and other outlets to identify their sources after reports emerged about the think tank.

The PR firm’s probe is said to have resulted in a 58-page report, which included details designed to discredit reporters who had looked into campaign finance breaches by the think tank.

The think tank was fined £14,250 in September 2021 over late reporting of donations, totalling £730,000 between 2017 and 2020, after referring itself to the Electoral Commission