Imagine discovering that a high-profile politician accidentally shared confidential details about their own scandal in a group chat—details that were never meant to see the light of day. That’s exactly what happened to Josh Simons, the Labour minister embroiled in a growing controversy over his alleged involvement in a smear campaign against journalists. But here’s where it gets even more intriguing: Simons appears to have mistakenly sent sensitive information about his case to a Labour MPs’ group chat, revealing that he’d been reassured by a senior party figure that the investigation into his conduct had cleared him of breaking the ministerial code. He also hinted that Keir Starmer would ask his ethics adviser to conduct a swift follow-up probe into the matter.
A leaked—and quickly deleted—message from the group chat shows Simons, a Cabinet Office minister and former director of Labour Together, seemingly sharing insider details about the investigation. In the message, he mentions that the Prime Minister will task Laurie Magnus, Starmer’s Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards, with reviewing his case. Crucially, Simons claims the Cabinet Office’s propriety and ethics team concluded he hadn’t violated the ministerial code. But this is the part most people miss: the Cabinet Office doesn’t actually have the authority to make that determination, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Simons stands accused of paying a PR firm £36,000 to dig into the personal, religious, and political backgrounds of journalists investigating Labour Together’s undeclared funding. He’s recently expressed being ‘disturbed’ by the APCO report’s intrusive nature, particularly regarding one journalist. However, it’s since emerged that Simons allegedly shared information about these journalists with GCHQ weeks after receiving the report, falsely claiming they had ties to the Kremlin. Simons has yet to respond to the New Statesman’s request for comment.
The calls for his dismissal are growing louder, with opposition parties, some Labour backbenchers, and even the Sunday Times urging Starmer to remove him from his post to allow for an impartial investigation. The irony? The Cabinet Office’s propriety and ethics team—the very department where Simons serves as a minister—is handling the probe. Is this a conflict of interest, or a necessary procedural step? We’ll let you decide.
In a WhatsApp message to Labour MPs, Simons wrote: ‘Jonny rang. PM will ask Laurie to look into it. Aim is to move fast. But PET did find I had not broken the code.’ This raises questions about transparency, accountability, and whether Simons is receiving special treatment. And here’s the real kicker: If the Cabinet Office can’t rule on ministerial code breaches, who can—and why hasn’t this been clarified sooner?
As the scandal unfolds, one thing is clear: this isn’t just about Simons’ alleged misconduct—it’s about the integrity of the systems meant to hold those in power accountable. What do you think? Is Simons getting a fair shake, or is this another example of political maneuvering? Let us know in the comments below. And if you want to stay ahead of the curve on stories like this, subscribe to the New Statesman today for just £1 a week. Further reading: Can Bridget Phillipson avoid a Send revolt?
