New email reveals efforts to downplay £739,000 in unreported Labour Together donations, fueling questions about Starmer aide McSweeney

A new email from a Labour Party lawyer reveals that Morgan McSweeney, the chief of staff to Labour leader Keir Starmer, was advised to steer the party’s dealings with its think-tank Labour Together toward treating hundreds of thousands of pounds in donations as an administrative error rather than as required disclosures. The disclosure adds to fresh questions about what Starmer knew about the donations and when, as conservatives renew pressure over the funding and its political uses.

The revelations come amid long-running scrutiny of Labour Together, which in 2021 was found by the Electoral Commission to have breached campaign finance rules in more than 20 instances. The watchdog fined Labour Together £14,250 after determining that a series of donations totaling £739,492, reported late or not at all between 2018 and July 2020, should have been declared within statutory time frames. The commission’s decision followed a period in which McSweeney was transitioning from Labour Together to a role in Labour’s leadership circle, and the episode resurfaced as the party sought to defend its fundraising practices.

The February 2021 email, obtained by the Daily Mail and circulated by the Conservatives, was sent by Gerald Shamash, described as solicitor to the Labour Party. In it, Shamash writes that the scale of undeclared donations leaves “no easy way to explain” the situation and instructs McSweeney to steer the Electoral Commission toward issuing an administrative penalty to minimise publicity. The memo notes that there is no record of the Commission having called Labour Together or McSweeney in relation to the matter, and cautions that unless McSweeney can document a specific prior discussion, Labour Together may need to describe the non-reporting as an administrative error rather than deliberate non-disclosure.

The memo comes as McSweeney’s broader role in Keir Starmer’s leadership is under renewed examination. McSweeney is described in internal biographies as a former mastermind of Labour’s 2019 campaign operations and as a longtime adviser who helped provide extensive polling data to Starmer. Critics accuse him of shaping decisions that raised questions about transparency and integrity, including a controversial push to appoint Lord Mandelson as the United States ambassador—a choice that drew attention for Mandelson’s past associations and statements on legal matters.

Labour officials have sought to limit the impact of the disclosures. Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden told Sky News that he had confidence in McSweeney and did not expect him to quit, noting that the Electoral Commission had investigated the issues years earlier and had issued a public statement at that time. He stressed that the Commission “looked into these issues three or four years ago” and took action accordingly. Downing Street has declined to provide additional detail about Starmer’s knowledge of the Labour Together donations, saying only that Starmer has “full confidence” in his chief of staff, while avoiding direct answers on the 2019 timeline of fundraising support.

The opposition’s response was swift. Tory Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake condemned the episodes as evidence of “hiding hundreds of thousands of pounds” that aided Starmer’s rise and called for immediate investigations by the Electoral Commission and police. The party argued that the affair, if proven, could raise questions about integrity at the heart of government. While Labour has argued that the concerns are part of political point-scoring, the party faces added pressure amid slipping poll numbers and growing scrutiny over how campaign finance is reported and overseen.

The 2021 findings by the Electoral Commission had already cast a long shadow over Labour Together and McSweeney’s public-facing role. The Commission said it had thoroughly investigated the late reporting and that the offences were determined and sanctioned accordingly. The new disclosures, including the February 2021 memo and the belated declarations filed by Labour Together’s successor, continue to complicate Labour’s narrative about transparency and compliance with campaign finance rules. The unfolding story underscores how scrutiny of party fundraising can intersect with questions about leadership, governance, and the boundaries of political influence in the UK.

The timeline spans McSweeney’s tenure at Labour Together from 2017 to 2018, the period in which he helped coordinate resources for Starmer’s leadership bid, and the period through 2020 when many donations were declared after the fact. The newly surfaced email challenges Labour’s public explanations that missing contributions were solely the result of human error, suggesting instead a deliberate attempt to navigate regulatory requirements. The Electoral Commission has maintained that it investigated the late reporting and took action, but the broader political fallout continues as both sides frame the issue around transparency, accountability, and the integrity of the party leadership team.