Labour Together Lobbyist Investigated Guardian Reporter as Scandal Grows

Published: 23 February 2026 . The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online

A political controversy has deepened around the UK thinktank Labour Together after reports emerged that a lobbyist working on its behalf has been accused of investigating a Guardian journalist who has been reporting on the group’s undeclared donations. The revelations add fresh pressure on Labour figures and ministers tied to the scandal.

According to multiple reports, Tom Harper, a senior director at the United States public affairs firm Apco Worldwide, authored a 58‑page document in early 2024 examining journalists involved in a 2023 story by The Sunday Times that exposed Labour Together’s failure to declare £730,000 in political donations. The firm was hired by Labour Together when it was led by now Cabinet Office minister Josh Simons.

The report, which critics say lacked supporting evidence, linked the Sunday Times investigation to a supposed Russian hack of Electoral Commission data — a claim the security services and journalists have dismissed. Investigators are now scrutinising Harper’s activities after The Sunday Times reported that he has also made recent inquiries into Henry Dyer, an investigations correspondent at The Guardian, suggesting without proof that he might be involved in a wider pro‑Russia campaign.

Apco’s work has sparked outrage among press freedom advocates and politicians from across the political spectrum. The firm is currently under review by the Public Relations and Communications Association after its research into journalists triggered ethical questions about the appropriateness of such investigations commissioned by political actors.

The controversy has revived intense scrutiny over Labour Together’s influence and conduct. Opponents argue that using a PR firm to probe journalists undermines democratic norms and risks drawing intelligence services into partisan disputes. Some critics have described the episode as a smear campaign against journalists doing legitimate investigative work.

Simons — who led Labour Together when it paid the PR firm — is already the subject of a Cabinet Office ethics inquiry into his involvement in disseminating elements of the report. Earlier reporting showed he had falsely linked journalists to a “pro‑Kremlin network” in communications with the National Cyber Security Centre (a unit within GCHQ), claims that were dismissed by officials.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called for a full investigation into the affair amid calls from opposition figures and political commentators for clearer answers about who authorised the research and why journalists were examined in such detail.

The situation continues to evolve as the Cabinet Office propriety and ethics unit reviews the matter, with broader questions emerging about political influence, media scrutiny, and the boundaries of acceptable conduct by thinktanks tied to party leadership campaigns.

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