Journalist who wrote The Fraud calls for any investigation to be conducted completely independently of the government or Labour Party
Six months after journalist Paul Holden revealed that he had been followed by private investigators, today the Cabinet Office said it will be “looking at the facts” around Labour Together, the organisation established by Croydon MP Steve Reed and his former Lambeth Council aide, Morgan McSweeney.
All together now: Streatham and Croydon North MP Steve Reed was a leading figure in Labour Together
It has been reported that Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ordered the Cabinet Office probe. “It absolutely needs to be looked into,” Starmer said this morning.
The investigation comes only after McSweeney left his job at No10 as the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff.
McSweeney was forced to resign last week over his part in the appointment of Peter Mandelson as Britain’s Ambassador to Washington. This was despite the Blairite peer’s known links to convicted paedophile and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Late last year, Holden reported that he was under surveillance prior to the publication of his book The Fraud, which exposed the undeclared donations of more than £700,000 behind the selection of Keir Starmer as the Labour Party leader
Holden’s book, The Fraud: Keir Starmer, Morgan McSweeney and the Crisis of British Democracy, includes an entire chapter about how Inside Croydon’s emails and social media accounts had been hacked five years ago, with some figures in the Croydon Labour Party admitting their involvement in handling the stolen data.
Then, despite compelling evidence to prove who had received the stolen files, the Metropolitan Police and Information Commissioner declined to act.
Today’s announcement of a Cabinet Office investigation comes after further allegations of “dark arts” investigations against journalists appeared in yesterday’s Sunday Times.
In a contract for the work, APCO Worldwide confirmed it would “investigate the sourcing, funding and origins of a Sunday Times article about Labour Together” as well as upcoming works by two authors, one of whom is Holden.
The Sunday Times reported that Labour Together paid APCO Worldwide at least £30,000 to “investigate the sourcing, funding and origins” of one of its stories about its undeclared donations at the think tank before the 2024 General Election. Holden’s research had provided much of the information behind that report.
“With its close and widely known links to the heart of government, serious questions must be answered about who was aware of these actions, including whether senior figures around the Prime Minister knew,” said Kevin Hollinrake MP, the chairman of the Conservative Party.
Dark arts: when Labour Together discovered Paul Holden was writing his book, they put him under surveillance by private investigators. Labour Together’s founders include Steve Reed and Morgan McSweeney
Josh Simons took over from McSweeney at the head of Labour Together, and he was in charge when “Operation Cannon” was commissioned from ACPO. Simons was elected as an MP at the 2024 General Election and is now a Cabinet Office minister.
Simons said ACPO Worldwide had gone beyond what was asked of them adding that he was “surprised and shocked to read the report extended beyond the contract by including unnecessary information on Gabriel Pogrund”. Pogrund is the Sunday Times politics journalist at the centre of the ACPO report.
Dodgy appointment: Morgan McSweeney (right) was behind giving Peter Mandelson the ambassador’s job
Earlier this month, when reports first emerged that Labour Together had employed ACPO, Simons said it was “nonsense” to claim he wanted to investigate journalists.
Labour Together was fined £14,250 by the Electoral Commission in September 2021 over late reporting of donations. Inside Croydon was one of the few publications to report this important matter at the time.
Today, Pual Holden, the author of The Fraud which uncovered the illegalities and skullduggery at Labour Together, told Inside Croydon: “I don’t see how anyone can have confidence in the Cabinet Office investigating this matter while Josh Simons is still the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet.
“This needs a genuine, independent investigation, carried out without the input or influence of people who have benefited from the Labour Together project.”
Read more: The Fraud: how Reed’s Labour spied on Croydon councillors
More Reed: Steve Reed’s aide blocks members’ vote on Mandelson scandal
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ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2026, Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for an EIGHTH time in nine years, in Private Eye magazine’s annual round-up of civic cock-ups
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Labour investigating itself means we won’t get the truth, just some mealy-mouthed excuses and apologies
Let us not forget the “Dark Arts Links” by Mr Reed to Terrapin a Lobbying and PR Firm retained in Croydon by Crystal Palace FC to deliver the last planning application for the clubs (don’t hold your breath) New Stand which has been in the mix since 2018. He received various hospitality packages from the Club whilst his Officer Manager a South Norwood councillor was also active.