The prime minister has asked his ethics adviser to investigate minister Josh Simons, following claims the think tank he used to run commissioned a report which looked into the background of journalists.
Labour Together, which helped Sir Keir Starmer get elected as Labour leader, paid APCO Worldwide at least £30,000 to “investigate the sourcing, funding and origins” of a Sunday Times story about undeclared donations at the think tank ahead of the 2024 election.
Simons has previously said the company had “gone beyond” what it had been asked to do by including “unnecessary information”.
Sir Keir had already asked the Cabinet Office to investigate Simons last week.
