Overview
- Keir Starmer confirmed the Cabinet Office will investigate the allegations and said he had no prior knowledge, as No 10 signalled confidence in minister Josh Simons.
- Josh Simons, who led Labour Together when Apco was hired, says the firm exceeded its brief and has welcomed scrutiny by the Public Relations and Communications Association.
- Reports say Labour Together paid £30,000–£36,000 for Apco’s Operation Cannon, which produced a 58‑page dossier containing deeply personal and allegedly false claims and implying Russian links to Sunday Times journalists.
- A shortened version of the Apco report was sent to the National Cyber Security Centre, which declined a full investigation, while elements circulated among ministers and advisers in Westminster.
- The controversy stems from earlier reporting that Labour Together failed to declare about £730,000 in donations between 2017 and 2020, for which the Electoral Commission issued a fine in 2021.