Watchdog rejects Tory call to reopen probe into Labour Together donations

The Electoral Commission will not reopen its investigation into undeclared donations to campaign group Labour Together when it was led by the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, the watchdog has said.

The Conservatives had called for a new probe into the handling of donations during Mr McSweeney’s time as Labour Together’s director, claiming leaked emails showed he had attempted to cover up the late reporting of donations as an administrative error.

But a spokesperson for the watchdog said it had found “no evidence of any other potential offences” and would not reopen its investigation.

Labour Together was fined £14,250 in September 2021 over late reporting of £740,000 of donations after the organisation had reported itself to the Electoral Commission.

Mr McSweeney had left his role in April 2020 to become a senior aide to Sir Keir Starmer in opposition and then in government.

But Conservative chairman Kevin Hollinrake urged the commission to launch a new investigation earlier this week, alleging Labour Together had “concocted” a “false excuse of administrative errors” to minimise its penalty and avoid bad publicity.

In a letter to the Electoral Commission, he said the implication of leaked emails reported by the Mail on Sunday was that Labour Together “chose not to report those donations” to stop the then Jeremy Corbyn-led Labour Party knowing “who was bankrolling their secretive political campaigning, and to keep their work below the political radar”.

But an Electoral Commission spokesperson said: “We have thoroughly reviewed this information and found no evidence of any other potential offences. We are confident that the initial determination and sanction were appropriate.

“We are therefore not reopening the investigation.”

They added that Labour Together’s fine had been “significant” and reflected “the seriousness of the offences determined, for which no reasonable excuse was put forward”.

Mr Hollinrake said the commission’s decision was “wrong” and demanded the release of its files on the investigation to “ensure the public has full transparency”.

He added: “This is not over, we will continue to reveal more evidence, and continue to push for a full investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner into Keir Starmer.

“The British public deserve the full truth, not another cover-up, and the Conservatives will continue to fight until they get that.”

A Labour Together spokesperson said the organisation welcomed the decision.

They added: “Labour Together proactively raised concerns about its own reporting of donations to the Electoral Commission in 2020.

“The Electoral Commission’s investigation, with which Labour Together fully cooperated, was completed in 2021.

“Since then, we have taken measures to ensure Labour Together is fully compliant with all Electoral Commission regulations.”

A Labour Party spokesperson said the Conservatives’ call for a new investigation was “a pathetic and desperate attempt to stay relevant”.