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Labour minister Josh Simons resigns after falsely linking journalists to 'pro-Kremlin' network
The Labour minister Josh Simons has resigned from the government after the Guardian revealed that he falsely linked reporters to a “pro-Kremlin” network in emails to GCHQ despite having claimed to be “surprised” and “furious” about a PR firm’s investigation into their journalism.
Simons, who had been a Cabinet Office minister, previously ran the thinktank Labour Together. He quit on Saturday, saying his position in office had become “a distraction from this government’s important work.”
The Makerfield MP had faced mounting pressure over his role in Labour Together’s commissioning of the lobbying and public affairs agency APCO to investigate journalists reporting on the thinktank’s failure to disclose political donations.
...
This followed a Sunday Times story that raised fresh questions about £730,000 of undeclared donations to Labour Together.
The contract Simons agreed with APCO for £36,000 was to “investigate the sourcing, funding and origins of a Sunday Times article about Labour Together”.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/feb/28/minister-josh-simons-resigns-labour-together
Simons, who had been a Cabinet Office minister, previously ran the thinktank Labour Together. He quit on Saturday, saying his position in office had become “a distraction from this government’s important work.”
The Makerfield MP had faced mounting pressure over his role in Labour Together’s commissioning of the lobbying and public affairs agency APCO to investigate journalists reporting on the thinktank’s failure to disclose political donations.
...
This followed a Sunday Times story that raised fresh questions about £730,000 of undeclared donations to Labour Together.
The contract Simons agreed with APCO for £36,000 was to “investigate the sourcing, funding and origins of a Sunday Times article about Labour Together”.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/feb/28/minister-josh-simons-resigns-labour-together
Trying to smear journalists with the authorities really is the work of an unprincipled wanker.