Novara Live Interview with Paul Holden: The Conspiracy To Silence Labour Critics
10 snips
Feb 23, 2026 Paul Holden, investigative journalist and author of The Fraud, speaks about being targeted after exposing undeclared political donations. He recounts legal battles, a US firm hired to probe reporters, and personal privacy intrusions. The conversation covers links between political funding networks, media manoeuvres to shape narratives, and the wider risks to democratic trust.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Undeclared Donations Fueled A Leadership Project
- Labour Together secretly collected and misreported at least £730,000, using funds to influence leadership and policy rather than transparent civic work.
- Documents show possible deliberate non‑reporting and planned responses to minimize Electoral Commission scrutiny, not mere bookkeeping errors.
Money Bought Influence And Candidates
- The undeclared money financed both an internal campaign to reshape Labour and external work (polling, candidate incubation) that helped Keir Starmer's rise.
- Examples include paid polling, policy incubation and funding campaigns for dozens of incoming MPs including Imogen Walker.
APCO Contracted To Hunt Journalists And Sources
- Labour Together hired APCO, a multinational reputation firm, to investigate the Sunday Times article and upcoming works by Paul Holden and Matt Taibbi.
- The APCO contract explicitly listed OSINT, financial forensics, HUMINT, media packaging and dissemination as tasks.
