Sarwar claim he did not know head of Labour Together ‘not credible’ says SNP MSP

Anas Sarwar’s claims he did not know the head of Labour Together are “not credible”, an SNP MSP has said, as Scottish Labour took thousands of pounds in donations from the think tank.

Culture secretary Angus Robertson has called for the Scottish Labour leader to answer claims he did not know the head of the think tank Labour Together, Josh Simons.

In 2023, Mr Simons spoke on LBC to discuss the Tories’ Rwanda plan and use of barges to house refugees.

He said: “Why don’t you send the smuggler gangs and put them on the barge that has been set aside for the asylum-seekers and then ship the barge up to the north of Scotland for all I care, you know, who cares?”

Speaking to the Daily Record in 2024, Mr Sarwar responded to the comments. He said: “My first reaction is ‘who?’ Every party has elements on the fringes that give them moments of cringe.”

Mr Robertson has said that Mr Sarwar’s claims of not knowing the think tank leader are “not credible” as the Electoral Commission shows that more than half of Scottish Labour Party MPs and organisations accepted more than £100,000 in total ahead of the 2024 election.

Mr Robertson said: “Does Anas Sarwar seriously expect Scottish voters to believe he didn’t know the man responsible for flooding his party with more than £100,000? People will not find that credible and it’s time he ended his silence on this dodgy organisation and handed back the murky cash his party took.

“Anas Sarwar’s MPs took cash worth over £100,000 from scandal-hit Labour Together despite it being a matter of public record that the organisation was fined by the Electoral Commission for 20 breaches of the law, including failing to declare over £700,000 in donations.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced on Monday that he had ordered the Cabinet Office to investigate claims about Labour Together after the group was accused of commissioning a report that investigated the background of a journalist.

The think tank allegedly paid a company at least £30,000 to “investigate the sourcing, funding and origins” of a Sunday Times story about undeclared donations at the think tank before the 2024 general election.

The Prime Minister said he “didn’t know anything” about the firm’s investigation and said “it absolutely needs to be looked into”.

Mr Robertson is calling on Scottish Labour to “hand back the cash” donated by the think tank.

He continued: “This dodgy organisation is now being investigated for paying a company to spy on journalists – the idea that Anas Sarwar can simply say ‘who?’ is for the birds.

“Not only must Anas Sarwar hand back the cash the Scottish Labour Party took from this sinister think tank, he should fully comply with any investigation that takes place.

“It’s the same old story with Anas Sarwar – lacking substance, appalling judgement and sheer opportunism. Why on earth did he allow his Scottish Labour Party to be stuffed with cash from an organisation that was known to have broken the law and investigated for undeclared donations?

“Anas Sarwar tried to be free of the UK Labour Party on Monday, but if that cheap stunt had even a morsel of credibility then he’d hand back the cash today – Scottish voters won’t be holding their breath.”

The think tank was previously run by Scottish Labour MP Imogen Walker’s husband Morgan McSweeney, between 2017 and 2020.

The Scottish Labour Party has been approached for comment.