Politics live: Starmer claims he ‘didn’t know anything’ about Labour Together smear campaign

The Sunday Times reported that the contents of an investigation by PR consultancy Apco were informally shared with Labour figures in 2024, including current cabinet ministers and special advisers. Apco was paid £36,000 to carry out the investigation in 2023.

The probe was reportedly commissioned by Labour Together, which helped Sir Keir win the Labour leadership.

The paper said it contained pages of “deeply personal and false claims” about one of the journalists, Gabriel Pogrund. It also discussed his Jewish background and included false claims about personal and professional relationships.

It was also reported to have made “baseless claims” that the emails underpinning the journalists’ story were likely to have come from a hack of the Electoral Commission, suspected to have been carried out by the Kremlin.

The scrutiny heaps pressure on government minister Josh Simons, who commissioned the 2023 report on reporters investigating the group’s funding.

Sir Keir Starmer has said he “didn’t know anything about” the investigation regarding Labour Together and “it absolutely needs to be looked into”.

Asked about the reports about the think tank, the Prime Minister said: “In relation to your second question on Labour Together, there will be a Cabinet Office investigation into the allegations….

“I didn’t know anything about this investigation, and it absolutely needs to be looked into, so the Cabinet Office will be establishing the facts.”

Labour Together, which assisted with the prime minister’s campaign to become Labour leader, is reported to have paid £36,000 to investigate a number of journalists.

Tony Blair has admitted he did not enjoy being prime minister in a new documentary about his life.

Sir Tony, who was in No 10 for 10 years from 1997 to 2007, told the Channel 4 programme: “If I'm really honest about it, I'm not sure I did enjoy it that much.

“I was just thinking, here you are in your early 40s, you’re prime minister.

“And rather than thinking, you’re prime minister – wow! I was like, you’re prime minister – so you better do a good job because now what happens to this country and its people depends on you.”

The Independent’s Millie Cooke reports:

The Independent’s political reporter Athena Stavrou reports:

Sir Keir Starmer is delivering a speech on the government’s consultation on a social media ban for under 16’s.

Ministers are taking steps now to bring in powers that mean they can act swiftly and respond to the results of an earlier announced consultation within months.

Speaking on a visit to community centre in London with mayor Sadiq Khan, the prime minister said: “We've already announced that we're going to do a consultation on banning social media for under 16, and that will start very soon. But I'm really clear the status quo things as they are now is not good enough.“Nobody can make the argument that things can be left as they are. They can’t.”

He added: “Speaking on a visit to community centre in London with mayor Sadiq Khan, the prime minister said: “We can't just wait and take years and years and years. We need to act very quickly, and that's what we're intending to do.”

Sir Keir Starmer is facing calls to order an inquiry into a Labour think tank’s investigation into journalists as he struggles to move on from the woes facing his premiership.

Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty said it would be “only right” to have a probe into Labour Together, which helped Sir Keir win the Labour leadership.

The calls heap pressure on government minister Josh Simons, who commissioned the 2023 report on reporters investigating the group’s funding.

The Independent’s Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:

Technology secretary Liz Kendall has said that online safety legislation needs to be implemented far more quickly in order to “protect children” and “keep pace” with changes online.

“We want to get the legislation right, whatever we decide to do in the end,” she told BBC Breakfast on Monday.

“The thing is, the technology is developing much, much more quickly, so I think we’ve got to look at ways to update the law much more quickly,” she said.

She referred to the time it took to pass the Online Safety Act in 2023 – imposing duties on social media and internet search companies to prevent the spread of illegal content – was “really frustrating”.

“We’re going to have to start thinking in the same way around online safety so we constantly keep pace, so that we protect children, give them their childhood back, as well as preparing them for the future.”

She warned technology “is developing much, much more quickly”.

Ahead of launching the consultation, the Prime Minister said: “As a dad of two teenagers, I know the challenges and the worries that parents face making sure their kids are safe online.

“Technology is moving really fast, and the law has got to keep up. With my Government, Britain will be a leader, not a follower, when it comes to online safety.”

He added: “The action we took on Grok sent a clear message that no platform gets a free pass.

“Today we are closing loopholes that put children at risk, and laying the groundwork for further action.

“We are acting to protect children’s wellbeing and help parents to navigate the minefield of social media.”

Keir Starmer is vowing to enforce a crackdown on children and teenagers using smartphones within months to help keep them safe online.

Reforms could include a minimum age limit for social media and restrictions on “infinite” scrolling.

Children could also be prevented from using virtual private networks (VPNs) to access pornography, and from speaking with online chatbots under proposals in a government consultation.

Ministers are taking steps now to bring in powers that mean they can act swiftly and respond to the results within months.

Before that, they will act now to close a legal loophole and force all AI chatbot providers to abide by the Online Safety Act or face the consequences of breaking the law.

The Independent’s Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:

Ellen Roome, who set up campaign group Jools’ Law after the death of her 14-year-old son, said more must be done to stop young people being harmed by social media.

Ms Roome said ahead of Sir Keir Starmer setting out new plans to prevent harms: “This is about truth. This is about accountability.

“This is about holding social media companies accountable when we can prove the harms they are fed online.

“But because of Jools, and because of relentless campaigning, other families will now have access to answers.

“Whilst this is a massive step forward, we must ultimately do more to stop children being harmed or dying in the first place.

“Preservation after death matters. Prevention before harm matters even more.

“And I fully support Lord Nash’s amendment to raise the age limit to 16 for the most harmful platforms. We must be brave enough to go further.”

Ms Roome, from Gloucestershire, believes her 14-year-old son Jools Sweeney died while attempting an online challenge in 2022, and she is one of a group of British parents suing TikTok in the US.