Labour minister commissioned report on journalists

Fri, 06 Feb 2026

Exclusive: Material gathered was personally given to Josh Simons when director of pro-Starmer thinktank, say sources

A Labour minister commissioned and reviewed a report in 2023 on journalists investigating the thinktank that would help propel Keir Starmer to power, the Guardian has learned.

The research was paid for and subsequently reviewed by Josh Simons, now a minister in the Cabinet Office, when he was director of Labour Together, according to sources and documents seen by the Guardian.