A LABOUR group which helped Keir Starmer get elected as Labour leader commissioned a report that investigated the personal and religious background of a Sunday Times journalist.
Labour Together paid APCO Worldwide at least £30,000 to “investigate the sourcing, funding and origins” of a story about undeclared donations at the think tank before the general election, the BBC reported.
It delivered a report, codenamed “Operation Cannon”, which included claims about a journalist who wrote the story and his faith, relationships and upbringing.
Sources told the BBC the US public affairs firm’s report included information about journalist Gabriel Pogrund’s Jewish beliefs and claims about his ideological position.
It also claimed, the sources said, that Pogrund’s previous reporting, including on the royal family, “could be seen as destabilising to the UK and also in the interests of Russia’s strategic foreign policy objectives”.
The report was allegedly prepared by a former Sunday Times employee who now works for APCO Worldwide.
It was commissioned by the then head of Labour Together, Josh Simons, who is now a Cabinet Office minister.
In a contract addressed to Simons, seen by BBC News, APCO Worldwide agreed to investigate the Sunday Times reporting, as well as journalist Paul Holden and American reporter Matt Taibbi.
Simons said APCO Worldwide had gone beyond what was asked and welcomed an investigation launched by the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA).
“I was surprised and shocked to read the report extended beyond the contract,” he said.
Some Labour MPs raised concerns, including Karl Turner and John McDonnell.
