Exclusive:Anas Sarwar urged to investigate £100k donated to Scots MPs from Labour Together under Morgan McSweeney
SNP depute Westminster leader Pete Wishart has written to the Scottish Labour leader asking if he has looked into the £100,000 which his MPs received from Labour Together.
Anas Sarwar has been urged to investigate Scottish Labour’s donations from the think-tank at the centre of a scandal.
SNP depute Westminster leader Pete Wishart has written to the Scottish Labour leader asking if he has looked into the £100,000 that his MPs received from Labour Together.
The Nationalists have called for an investigation into whether Sir Keir Starmer failed to declare support from Labour Together during his Labour leadership bid in 2020.
The Electoral Commission found a series of breaches by the think-tank for failing to declare almost £740,000 in donations, while Downing Street Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney was its director. The group was later fined for breaking electoral law more than 20 times.
A leaked email to Mr McSweeney allegedly shows he was warned he needed to declare the donations and he would be breaking the law if he did not.
Almost half of Scottish Labour MPs received donations from Labour Together in the build-up to the general election. This amounted to more than £100,000 split between 17 MPs.
Among those who received donations were former Scottish Secretary Ian Murray, junior Scotland Office minister Kirsty McNeill, energy minister Michael Shanks and whip Imogen Walker, who is Mr McSweeney’s wife.
Mr Wishart wrote in his letter to Mr Sarwar: “Will you join the SNP in supporting a full inquiry into the allegations against Labour Together and Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney?
“Given that Labour Together has donated £100,000 to Scottish Labour politicians, are you aware, and have you investigated, the source of these funds and whether they were properly declared through the Electoral Commission?
“If it is proven that donations were deliberately concealed and undeclared to the Electoral Commission – will Scottish Labour and its MPs who received over £100,000 from Labour Together relinquish this money?
“What recent donations, political or staffing support has Scottish Labour accepted from Labour Together? Will Scottish Labour rule out accepting more donations or political and staffing support from Labour Together in the time ahead?”
Scots-born Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said the attacks against Mr McSweeney were because he is a “very talented man”.
He told LBC on Wednesday: “I’m not surprised that people opposed to Morgan McSweeney are attacking him because he’s a very talented man. I worked closely with him in the general election that we fought last year and I think when opponents attack you like that, it’s because they know you’re a talented person.”
Labour Together became better known north of the Border after its then director Josh Simons said people-smuggling gangs should be sent to Scotland, during an interview about the Tories’ plans to fly illegal immigrants to Rwanda.
Mr Sarwar dismissed Mr Simons and Labour Together as a cringeworthy “fringe group”. But after the general election it emerged that 17 of the new 37 Scottish Labour MPs were given £10,000 from the group in the year before the election.
Left-wing Scottish Labour group Campaign for Socialism had asked where the money came from at the time.
Scottish Labour was approached for comment.
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