The PR industry’s main professional body has opened an investigation into APCO Worldwide, the firm hired by Labour Together to investigate journalists who were digging into the undeclared funding behind Keir Starmer’s rise to the Labour leadership.
The Public Relations and Communication Association (PRCA) confirmed it has referred APCO to its Independent Standards Committee following Democracy for Sale’s reporting.
As we revealed last week, Labour Together paid APCO at least £30,000 in 2023 to investigate journalists from the Sunday Times and other outlets who were examining how hundreds of thousands of pounds in undeclared donations funded polling, data work and campaigning for Starmer’s 2020 leadership bid.
APCO was hired while Labour Together was run by Josh Simons, the 32-year-old Makerfield MP who is now a Cabinet Office minister in Starmer’s government.
Pressure is mounting on Simons over the affair. On Sunday, Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s former chief of staff and a key architect of Labour Together, resigned following the Peter Mandelson scandal. McSweeney knew APCO had been hired to investigate journalists, but the work was commissioned by Simons.
Internal briefings prepared by APCO for Labour Together named individual journalists from the Sunday Times, the Guardian, Declassified and other outlets as “significant persons of interest”. The documents also discussed potential “leverage” over Paul Holden, author of The Fraud: Keir Starmer, Morgan McSweeney.
The journalists named had all investigated how Labour Together had failed to declare £730,000 in funding that was used to power Starmer to the top of the Labour party.
Simons has dismissed Democracy for Sale’s reporting as “nonsense”, claiming APCO was investigating a suspected hack and that journalists were not targeted. But Simons has not explained why Labour Together hired a PR firm, rather than cyber security specialists, to investigate an alleged hack.
Democracy for Sale yesterday revealed that Labour Together, with Simons’ direct knowledge, told the National Cyber Security Council it had been hacked and submitted APCO’s report as evidence.
The think tank then briefed lobby journalists that the security services were investigating the alleged hack - a move that appears to have helped head off further reporting into its undeclared donations.
Calls are growing for a full investigation into Labour Together’s actions. Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell has written to the Labour Party General Secretary for a third time calling for an independent inquiry into Labour Together.
“Keir Starmer yesterday promised a change of culture in the party. This will be an early test of that promise,” McDonnell said.
The National Union of Journalists general secretary Laura Davison said that our findings “raise serious concerns about political interference and respect for press freedom in the UK.”
The PRCA’s Independent Standards Committee will now consider whether APCO breached its code of conduct.
“We have referred this matter to our Independent Standards Committee who will decide what, if any, action is required,” a PRCA spokesperson told PR Week.
Democracy for Sale previously asked APCO why it failed to disclose Labour Together as a client in its PRCA transparency returns. A spokesperson said the firm “discloses all clients that are required to be included in its PRCA reports consistent with applicable PRCA rules”.
APCO has not responded to our requests for comment on this story.
A senior public affairs figure said Labour Together’s decision to hire a PR firm to investigate journalists and their sources was extraordinary: “I haven’t seen or been involved in anything like this in my career.”
Fantastic work, as ever. You're getting the recognition you deserve, at last....
Destabilising Keir Starmers government from the inside is labour committing suicide. Labour rebels need to know one thing. A slightly left of centre labour party leader can win a general election. A far left labour party leader never will. So do you want to be the government or not.