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2h ago

Leaked Email Shows Labour Lawyer Urged McSweeney to Call Undeclared £739,000 an 'Admin Error'

The disclosure has prompted Conservative calls for fresh scrutiny even though the Electoral Commission fined Labour Together in 2021 over the late-reported donations.

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After Morgan McSweeney left Labour Together, his replacement found that some donations had not been reported to the Electoral Commission
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Overview

  • Conservatives released correspondence from Labour lawyer Gerald Shamash advising Morgan McSweeney to drop an unproven claim of 2018 guidance and, if needed, characterise the non-reporting as an administrative error.
  • The email warned against referring to McSweeney in dealings with the watchdog because it had no record of a 2018 call with him and doing so could trigger a defensive response.
  • Electoral Commission records show a 2017 conversation instructing that donations must be registered, and in 2021 the body found more than 20 breaches and issued a £14,250 fine to Labour Together.
  • Nearly three years of donations worth about £739,000, made between 2018 and July 2020, were later disclosed as late declarations by McSweeney’s successor, Hannah O’Rourke.
  • Downing Street says Keir Starmer retains full confidence in his chief of staff and Labour Together cites its cooperation and the concluded 2021 probe, while no new official investigation has been announced.