Today in Focus Why did Labour Together orchestrate a smear campaign against journalists?
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Feb 18, 2026 Henry Dyer, investigations correspondent at The Guardian known for long-form reporting and open-source records analysis. He recounts uncovering a thinktank's secret probes into reporters, traces undeclared donations and who funded the group, and explains how the group influenced political leadership and risked press freedom.
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Early Discovery Of Undeclared Donations
- Henry Dyer recounts finding Labour Together's late-declared donations while trawling Electoral Commission records as a young freelance journalist.
- He wrote for Business Insider in 2021 and largely forgot the story until it resurfaced years later when Democracy for Sale alerted him.
Secretive Thinktank Shaped Labour Strategy
- Labour Together began quietly in 2015 and later attracted large donations after Morgan McSweeney took charge in 2017.
- McSweeney used the group to build data-driven strategy aimed at changing Labour after Jeremy Corbyn.
Electoral Commission Fine Validated Reporting
- Dyer's 2021 article flagged late donation declarations and the Electoral Commission later fined Labour Together for repeated breaches.
- The fine confirmed the earlier record anomalies Dyer had found in public filings.