Overview
- Newly reported emails show Josh Simons and his then chief of staff, Ben Szreter, named Sunday Times journalists Gabriel Pogrund and Harry Yorke to the National Cyber Security Centre in 2024 while suggesting their reporting could be tied to a pro‑Kremlin network.
- Simons had hired APCO Worldwide for £36,000 in November 2023 and received a 58‑page dossier in January 2024 after commissioning work to build a case that could counter reporting on Labour Together’s undeclared funding.
- NCSC reviewed the submission but chose not to open an investigation, and GCHQ had already assessed that China, not Russia, was responsible for the Electoral Commission hack cited in the material.
- The emails also circulated personal details about freelance journalist Paul Holden and alleged associations that critics say amounted to a smear campaign.
- Simons disputes the claims and says they are untrue, while the Cabinet Office propriety and ethics team examines his role as Labour Together’s director against the backdrop of the think tank’s £730,000 undeclared donations and Electoral Commission fine.