Labour Together: How McSweeney's shadowy think tank went to 'war' against journalists

Labour Together: How McSweeney's shadowy think tank went to 'war' against journalists Submitted by Fleur Hargreaves on Fri, 02/27/2026 - 13:49 MPs, civil liberties groups and journalists warn of implications for press freedom after think tank's alleged smear campaign against journalists Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at the 2025 Global Progress Action Summit in central London on 26 September 2025 (Niklas Halle'n/AFP) Off Cabinet Office minister Josh Simons resigned  last weekend following a scandal in which he reportedly paid a PR firm £36,000 ($48,000) to investigate journalists from The Sunday Times and other outlets looking into undeclared donations funding the think tank he headed, Labour Together.   His actions have sparked concerns amongst politicians, journalists and civil liberties campaigners about the use of intimidation tactics by those close to government to stifle press freedom. Julie Posetti, chair of Centre for Journalism and Democracy at City St George’s, told Middle East Eye that the actions of Labour Together and the PR firm it worked with, "in effect represent a threat to media freedom in the UK ”.