A British government minister resigned yesterday even though a review found he had not breached the ministerial code after reports accused him of ordering the investigation of journalists while he was running a think-tank.
A review by Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s ethics adviser cleared Josh Simons, a junior minister involved in government plans for a new digital ID scheme, of breaching the code.
Simons’ exit adds to a growing number of official departures in the less than two years that Starmer has been in office. Turmoil in recent weeks has triggered some calls within his own party for him to resign.
“It is clear that my remaining in office has now become a distraction from this government’s important work,” Simons wrote in a letter to Starmer, published on the government’s website.
“For that reason, and with sadness and regret, I offer my resignation.”
Starmer said he accepted the resignation “with sadness”.
He ordered the review after reports that Simons, a former director of Labour Together, had paid a PR agency to investigate journalists who had written about the think-tank’s finances.
The review said Simons had hired APCO Worldwide because he believed Labour Together had been the victim of an illegal hack and had not intended the firm to scrutinise journalists. It said he accepted the terms of reference had been “wider than he had understood”, creating a perception that the work went beyond examining the suspected hack.
The review said APCO’s initial report included references to a British newspaper journalist, but that Simons had acted to have those removed. It said his public statements had been made in good faith and found “no basis” to advise the prime minister he had breached the ministerial code.
Labour Together, which used to be run by Starmer’s former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and is seen as close to the current government, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Neither did APCO.
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