Paul Holden, one of the investigative journalists at the heart of the Labour Together APCO scandal, has publicly condemned the BBC for giving former Cabinet minister Josh Simons a lengthy interview on BBC Newscast without approaching him – or his colleague – for their side of the story.
Holden, who runs the anti-corruption organisation Shadow World Investigations alongside Andrew Feinstein, published a detailed statement on X in which he accused the BBC of fundamental journalistic failure, and warned that he would escalate the matter to Ofcom if amendments to the broadcast are not made. The statement, published in full below this article, marks a significant development in a story that has already claimed Simons’ ministerial career and shaken confidence in the relationship between Labour’s inner circle and press freedom.
What the BBC broadcast
BBC Newscast published a forty-minute interview with Simons – the former Cabinet Office minister and ex-director of Labour Together – in which he discussed his role in commissioning PR firm APCO Worldwide to investigate journalists reporting on his organisation. It was Simons’ first full interview since his resignation from government, and in it he described himself as having been “naive,” saying there was “a lot I’ve learned from it and things I would have done differently.”
Holden says he was not informed the interview was being recorded or aired, and only found out about it when a friend sent him a text message the night it was published. He was not approached for comment. Neither was Feinstein, who is also repeatedly mentioned in the broadcast.
“I only found out last night, when a friend texted me, that the person who hired a major multinational reputation management firm that produced a despicable and defamatory report on me and my colleagues… was being given forty minutes to give his version of events on a major podcast published by our national broadcaster,” Holden wrote.
He added: “The BBC has NEVER – not once – approached me to comment on a story that is, ultimately, about me, my investigations, my family and my colleagues.”
Background: what is the Labour Together APCO scandal?
To understand why Holden’s response carries such weight, it is worth recapping the scandal that prompted Simons’ resignation in the first place.
Labour Together is a think tank with deep connections to Keir Starmer’s Cabinet. It played a significant role in reshaping the Labour Party after Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, and Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s former chief of staff, was a previous head of the organisation.
When journalists began investigating Labour Together’s finances – specifically, its failure to declare substantial donations to the Electoral Commission – the organisation’s then-director Josh Simons commissioned APCO Worldwide, a major multinational PR firm, to investigate those journalists. Labour Together paid APCO at least £30,000 to “investigate the sourcing, funding and origins” of a Sunday Times article about the think tank, as well as journalists Paul Holden and American reporter Matt Taibbi.
The resulting report was codenamed “Operation Cannon.” The 58-page document included sensitive personal information about the targeted journalists, including claims about one journalist’s religious beliefs, family background, and the suggestion that his reporting “could be seen as destabilising to the UK and also in the interests of Russia’s strategic foreign policy objectives.”
Sections of the APCO report were then passed to the National Cyber Security Centre – part of GCHQ – with allegations that Holden may have received illegally hacked materials from Russia or China. GCHQ concluded there was no case to answer, but the damage to the journalists’ reputations had already been attempted.
Following an inquiry by Laurie Magnus, the Prime Minister’s adviser on ministerial standards, Simons chose to resign from government. In his resignation letter, he acknowledged that what had happened to the targeted journalists was wrong.
The contract – in Holden’s own words
Central to Holden’s statement is the text of the contract between Labour Together and APCO Worldwide, which he has now published in full. The contract, addressed directly to Simons, sets out clearly what APCO was engaged to do.
It states that APCO would investigate “the sourcing, funding and origins” of a Sunday Times article, as well as “upcoming works by authors Paul Holden and Matt Taibbi.” Crucially, the contract then describes the purpose of that investigation: to “provide a body of evidence that could be packaged up in the media in order to create narratives that would proactively undermine any future attacks on Labour Together.”
The investigative methods listed in the contract include open source investigations, human intelligence gathering, financial investigations, digital forensics, and media packaging and dissemination.
Holden’s position is unambiguous: “This contract is clear. APCO were hired to investigate me to produce materials that would ‘proactively undermine’ my factually accurate, public interest reporting. They would use a range of investigative techniques to do so. This investigation has caused me and my family significant anxiety and distress.”
The dispute over the BBC interview
Holden’s specific complaint about the Newscast episode centres on accuracy and fairness. He says Simons used the word “hack” eight times in the interview – repeatedly implying that Holden’s reporting may have derived from illegally obtained materials – without any acknowledgement from the BBC that this allegation has been investigated and found to be entirely without foundation.
“At no time was it acknowledged in this discussion that this allegation – that I might have received hacked materials – is entirely false, and I have repeatedly proven it to be false,” Holden writes.
After contacting the BBC to complain, Holden says he was told by Newscast editor Sam Bonham that the broadcaster would update the episode and its associated reporting to address some of his concerns. At the time of publication, he says this has not yet been done in relation to the podcast itself, and warns he will take the matter to Ofcom if it is not resolved.
More than 20 Labour MPs have previously called for a fully independent investigation into the Labour Together APCO affair, with concerns raised about press freedom and the use of a government intelligence body as a vehicle to intimidate journalists. The National Union of Journalists has also strongly criticised the investigation.
Why this matters
At its core, this story raises serious questions about the limits of acceptable behaviour for organisations closely connected to those in government – and about the responsibilities of public broadcasters when covering stories that directly affect individuals who have not been contacted for comment.
For Holden, a journalist who spent years investigating Labour Together’s finances and whose work ultimately contributed to McSweeney’s resignation as Starmer’s chief of staff, the BBC’s decision to broadcast a lengthy rehabilitation interview with Simons without once seeking his perspective represents a second injustice following the original investigation.
As Holden himself described the APCO operation: “It’s basically, we’re planning to go and give you stuff that you can use to go after the journalists.”
Whether the BBC will now provide him the platform to set out his account in full – as he has requested – remains to be seen.
Paul Holden’s full statement, as published on X, is reproduced below this article.
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