Newscast Why Josh Simons Resigned From Government
Mar 28, 2026
Josh Simons, a Labour MP and former director of Labour Together who previously worked on responsible AI at Meta, speaks about why he resigned from government. He discusses the controversy over a report into journalists, his decision to hire a PR firm, and accountability for mistakes. He also reflects on his Meta work, concerns about social media harms, and policy steps for protecting young people online.
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Hiring APCO To Trace Electoral Commission Leaks
- Josh Simons recounts commissioning APCO to trace whether Electoral Commission documents were leaked after a confirmed hack.
- He says he sought cybersecurity expertise because private lawyer letters and call records appeared in the Sunday Times piece.
Investigation Aimed At Source Not Reporters, He Says
- Simons insists the commission's brief focused on the origin of leaked documents, not on journalists themselves.
- He says APCO presented a dark‑web tracing capability and that his intent was to verify if materials came from a public Electoral Commission hack.
He Calls His Role Naive And Took Responsibility
- Simons admits he was naive and says he later asked lawyers to redact false material about Gabriel Pogrund and to make the APCO report confidential.
- He says he spoke at length to Pogrund and resigned taking responsibility for the impression created.
