Keir Starmer’s ethics adviser to probe minister over targeting of journalists – POLITICO

LONDON — Keir Starmer’s independent ethics adviser will investigate Cabinet Office Minister Josh Simons following claims he commissioned a lobbying firm to investigate journalists before becoming an MP.

Laurie Magnus will probe whether Simons breached the ministerial code in a row over Labour Together, which tasked the American PR firm APCO Worldwide in 2023 with investigating the “sourcing, funding and origin” of stories that had been published about the group’s finances. Simons was running the think tank at the time.

The U.K. prime minister requested the probe after receiving a “fact finding” report conducted by the Cabinet Office’s propriety and ethics team, Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones told MPs.