A Labour minister has stepped down amid allegations of engaging a PR firm to discredit journalists, stating he had become a “distraction” from the government’s crucial agenda.

Josh Simons faced mounting pressure to relinquish his ministerial role after accusations surfaced that he had commissioned a report targeting the backgrounds of journalists during his tenure at the think tank Labour Together.

Despite an inquiry by Sir Keir Starmer’s ethics adviser concluding that Mr. Simons did not violate the Ministerial Code, the Makerfield MP announced his resignation on Saturday evening.

Labour Together, the think tank associated with Mr. Simons, was reportedly involved in hiring the PR agency Apco Worldwide for £36,000 to delve into the histories of journalists covering the organization.

The investigation allegedly followed media reports highlighting Labour Together’s oversight in declaring over £700,000 in donations.

In his resignation letter addressed to the Prime Minister, Mr. Simons expressed that his continued presence in office had evidently become a distraction from the government’s significant initiatives.

‘For that reason, and with sadness and regret, I offer my resignation.’

Mr Simons, who is also Labour MP for Makerfield, has previously dismissed claims he commissioned it as ‘nonsense’. 

Josh Simons (pictured) has resigned as a Cabinet Office minister, saying he had ‘become a distraction from this Government’s important work’

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in September  last year. The Labour Together think tank supported Starmer’s Labour leadership bid 

Submitting his resignation, Mr Simons also paid tribute to the work of the Guardian and Sunday Times journalists investigated by Apco, saying he ‘never sought to smear’ them. 

He added: ‘I welcome that Sir Laurie Magnus has cleared me of breaching the Ministerial Code. 

‘It was important to me to complete this process to prove that I behaved with integrity and that my public statements have been truthful and honest.’

Sir Keir said he has accepted ‘with sadness’ the resignation of Josh Simons from his role as a Cabinet Office minister.

‘I want to express my thanks for the commitment, focus, and energy you have brought to ministerial office,’ he said in his reply to Mr Simons’ letter of resignation.

Sir Keir added: ‘In accepting your resignation, I also want to place on record that the Independent Adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, found no breach of the Ministerial Code. I am grateful for your full and proactive cooperation throughout his work.

‘I understand that, to avoid any ongoing distraction from delivering the Government’s mission, you have taken the difficult decision to step aside.

‘I respect that decision, and I look forward to continuing to work with you in driving forward the Government’s priorities.’

An investigation into the claims was announced on Monday, only hours after Downing Street said Sir Keir continued to have full confidence in Mr Simons.

In previous statements, Mr Simons said Apco had been hired to investigate an illegal hack.

But in a letter to the Prime Minister, ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus said the former minister now accepted the terms he agreed with Apco were ‘wider than he had understood’ and he had acted ‘too hastily in confirming their appointment’.

While Sir Laurie said Mr Simons had acted ‘in good faith’, he said the MP acknowledged the ‘perceived gap between his public statements and what he now accepts appears to be a more extensive scope has been damaging’.

Sir Laurie added: ‘I see no basis for advising you of any breach of the Ministerial Code by Mr Simons but you will wish to consider, in the light of this distraction and potential reputational damage, whether he continues to hold your confidence as a member of your Government.’

Shadow Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart said Sir Keir should have sacked Josh Simons earlier.

In a post on X, he said: ‘The Prime Minister should have sacked him last week – it was clear as day that he had done wrong.

‘Labour waited to refer the case to the Independent Adviser to delay judgement until after the by-election (fat lot of good that did).

‘Need full investigation into Labour Together now.’

The Labour Together think tank, which helped Sir Keir get elected as Labour leader, is said to have hired a PR firm to investigate journalists reporting on its funding.

APCO Worldwide is reported to have been paid £36,000 to examine the personal, political and religious ‘backgrounds and motivations’ of reporters in 2023.

The investigation is said to have taken place after stories were published about Labour Together’s failure to declare more than £700,000 in donations.

A 58-page dossier by APCO is reported to have included pages of deeply personal and false claims about Sunday Times’ Whitehall editor Gabriel Pogrund.

Darren Jones, the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, on Monday told the House of Commons that Sir Keir had asked Sir Laurie to investigate Mr Simons following the conclusion of a fact-finding exercise by the Cabinet Office’s propriety and ethics team (PET).

Mr Simons was earlier reported to have accidentally messaged details of his case to a WhatsApp group of Labour MPs.

In an apparent reference to Labour Chief Whip Jonathan Reynolds, he is said to have written: ‘Jonny rang, PM will ask Laurie to look in to it. Aim is to move fast. But PET did find I had not broken the code.’

Mr Simons, a strong ally of Sir Keir, has previously said it was ‘nonsense’ to claim he wanted to investigate journalists.

He also claimed to be ‘surprised and shocked’ by APCO’s decision to include ‘unnecessary information’ on Mr Pogrund, as it had ‘extended beyond the contract’.

But leaked details of the contract confirmed APCO was asked to investigate the ‘sourcing, funding and origins’ of a newspaper article about Labour Together’s donations.

In a confirmation letter to Mr Simons, the firm promised to ‘provide a body of evidence that could be packaged up for use in the media’.

It has also been claimed that Mr Simons passed the findings of the inquiry to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), suggesting that it investigate whether Labour Together had been targeted by a Russian operation to undermine Sir Keir.

A spokesperson for Mr Simons denied the allegations. ‘These claims are untrue,’ they said.

Mr Simons, a strong ally of Sir Keir, has previously said it was ‘nonsense’ to claim he wanted to investigate journalists

The claims piled pressure on Mr Simons to resign as more than 20 Labour MPs wrote to the PM and Hollie Ridley, Labour’s general secretary, to demand an independent investigation into Labour Together’s actions.

In a letter seen by the Telegraph, the MPs said: ‘We note concerns that any investigation led or overseen by Government departments containing individuals with past or present links to Labour Together risks undermining public trust, regardless of eventual findings.

‘Even the perception of partiality can cause lasting damage to confidence in our democratic institutions.’

They added: ‘At a time when trust in politics remains fragile, it is imperative that these allegations are addressed in a manner that upholds the highest standards of integrity and accountability.’

Rachael Maskell, the Labour MP for York Central and a signatory to the letter, said: ‘It is vital that we defend the freedom of journalists and I am appalled that Labour Together sought to undermine them.

‘Only an independent inquiry could instil confidence. I want integrity and transparency at the heart of politics so the Cabinet Office cannot investigate Labour Together when its former director remains a minister in the Cabinet Office.’

The PM’s official spokesman said: ‘Journalism and the free press are fundamental to any democracy and any reporters must be able to do their jobs without fear of favour.

‘It’s right that there’s an internal process led by officials in the PET team to establish the facts of the matter.’

Labour Together was fined £14,250 in September 2021 over late reporting of donations, totalling £730,000 between 2017 and 2020, after referring itself to the Electoral Commission.

APCO said it is undertaking a ‘detailed internal review of the project’.

This is a breaking news story. More to follow