UK Cabinet Office to investigate Labour-linked think tank over probe into journalists

LONDON

The UK Cabinet Office is “looking into” the conduct of Labour Together, a think tank accused of paying a public relations firm to investigate journalists reporting on its funding.

The matter concerns a probe conducted by Apco Worldwide, a US-owned public relations company, into journalists at The Sunday Times.

Labour Together paid £36,000 (about $50,000) to Apco to examine the “backgrounds and motivations” of journalists behind a story published before the general election.

The Sunday Times had reported that the group failed to declare £730,000 (about $1 million) in donations between 2017 and 2020.

The Electoral Commission later found the think tank committed 20 breaches of campaign finance law and fined it in 2021.

According to the report, the aim was to discredit the newspaper’s reporting by suggesting its journalists might be part of a Russian conspiracy or had relied on emails hacked by the Kremlin.

The report was prepared by Tom Harper, Apco’s senior director and a former Sunday Times employee.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday said the matter “absolutely needs to be looked into.”

“In relation to your second question on Labour Together, there will be a Cabinet Office investigation into the allegations … 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,” he said.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall told Times Radio: “Personally, and as a government as a whole, we absolutely value the freedom of the press."

"It’s right that this issue is being investigated by the relevant body here, the regulatory body, which is looking at public affairs companies. And the Cabinet Office will also be looking into this to make sure all the facts are established," she said.