Sir Keir Starmer carries out mini-reshuffle after Josh Simons’ resignation

Sir Keir Starmer has carried out a mini-reshuffle of junior ministers after Labour MP Josh Simons resigned from Government amid controversy surrounding a think tank that he used to run.

James Frith has replaced Mr Simons as parliamentary secretary in the Cabinet Office, after allegations that Labour Together paid a PR firm to investigate the background of journalists who had written stories about it.

A probe by the Prime Minister’s ethics adviser found Mr Simons had not breached the ministerial code, but the Makerfield MP said he had “become a distraction” and stood down at the weekend.

Bury North MP Mr Frith has taken over his brief as junior Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) minister and parliamentary secretary in the Cabinet Office.

Baroness Ruth Anderson, who was already a whip, also becomes a parliamentary secretary in the department, while Washington and Gateshead South MP Sharon Hodgson has been made a junior health minister.

Ms Hodgson takes on the role after Ashley Dalton, who has advanced breast cancer, left Government on Monday to manage her condition while remaining MP for West Lancashire.

Mr Simons had faced calls to stand down after Labour Together was accused of paying Apco Worldwide £36,000 to look into the background of reporters in 2023, when he was the think tank’s director.

In a resignation letter over the weekend, he said he had “never sought to smear” the Guardian and Sunday Times journalists investigated by the firm and paid tribute to their work.

In previous statements, Mr Simons said Apco had been hired to investigate an illegal hack.

But in a letter to Sir Keir, standards watchdog Sir Laurie Magnus said the ex-minister now accepted the terms he agreed with the firm were “wider than he had understood” and he had acted “too hastily in confirming their appointment”.

While Sir Laurie said Mr Simons had acted “in good faith”, he said the MP acknowledged the “perceived gap between his public statements and what he now accepts appears to be a more extensive scope has been damaging”.

Mr Simons said: “I welcome that Sir Laurie Magnus has cleared me of breaching the ministerial code. It was important to me to complete this process to prove that I behaved with integrity and that my public statements have been truthful and honest.

“Nonetheless, it is clear that my remaining in office has now become a distraction from this Government’s important work. For that reason, and with sadness and regret, I offer my resignation. It has been an honour to serve this great country.”

Sir Keir said he accepted Mr Simons’ resignation “with sadness” and respected his decision.

Labour Together’s current chief executive, Alison Phillips, who took over in 2025, said the “scope of work” carried out by Apco was “indefensible”.

She added: “The organisation is under new leadership, and we are determined to act to the highest standards of transparency and integrity in the work we do.

“We are improving our governance arrangements and will learn the necessary lessons of the past.”