DOWNING Street chief of staff Morgan McSweeney hid more than £700,000 in donations to a Labour think tank for three years despite being explicitly told they had to be declared, the chair of the Tory Party has alleged.
In a five-page letter to the head of the Electoral Commission (EC), MP Kevin Hollinrake states that McSweeney was told by the EC that he had to report donations to Labour Together in 2017 – but did not do so during his entire time at the head of the think tank.
Hollinrake alleges that McSweeney may have breached the Political Parties Elections and Referendums Act, which makes “knowingly or recklessly providing false information” to investigators a criminal offence.
The £700k donation cover-up: Starmer’s right-hand man caught red-handed. The Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff has been caught covering up £700,000 in secret donations used to install Starmer as Labour leader. This isn’t just bad judgement – it’s a potential crime. I’ve called… pic.twitter.com/H6pz1RbARO
— Kevin Hollinrake MP (@kevinhollinrake) September 22, 2025
He alleged that leaked correspondence between McSweeney and Labour lawyers shows a strategy to disguise late-reported donations as “admin error” despite documented warnings from the EC that the money had to be declared.
The letter also names Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Housing Secretary Steve Reed as being drawn into discussions about how to obscure the true source and reporting of donations linked to Labour Together.
The Conservative chair alleged that the think thank used the undeclared funds in a political campaign to remove Jeremy Corbyn and install Keir Starmer as leader, saying that "unreported donations received by Labour Together include £147,500 of donations during the period of the 2020 Labour Party leadership election when Morgan McSweeney was secretary".
Hollinrake called on the Commission to compel Starmer, McSweeney, Mahmood, Reed and others to explain their roles, and refer the matter to police if criminal offences are confirmed.
The Tory MP wrote: “Morgan McSweeney was secretary of Labour Together – the role responsible for compliance and administration, from 10 July 2017 to 4 April 2020.
“As you will be aware, in September 2021, the Electoral Commission found that Labour Together broke the law by failing to report £739,492 of political donations. The commission fined Labour Together £14,250 for (a) failure to deliver donation reports within 30 days of accepting donations, (b) inaccurate reporting of a donation, and (c) failure to appoint responsible persons within 30 days of accepting donations.
“These funds were used by Labour Together in a sustained political campaign to bring down Jeremy Corbyn and secure the election of Keir Starmer as leader of the Labour Party.
“Only after Keir Starmer had seized control of the Labour Party, in November 2020, and after Morgan McSweeney had joined the Labour Party as Starmer’s campaigns director, did Labour Together approach the Electoral Commission to report the late donations.”
After quoting EC documentation showing that McSweeney had been informed of the need to declare the donations on multiple occasions in 2017, Hollinrake added: “I believe there is sufficient evidence for the Electoral Commission to consider this new evidence which has come to light, and whether a criminal offence has been committed in this case, and if so, refer the matter to the police.
“Given such a potential offence would directly relate to hindering the Electoral Commission, the police would need to rely on all information held by the Electoral Commission, to be read alongside this new evidence.”
Labour Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook dismissed the allegations on Tuesday, saying it was “yet more mudslinging” from the Conservatives “in a desperate bid to stay relevant as a party”.
He told Times Radio: “My understanding is that everything in relation to the leadership contest has been properly declared.
“Obviously, if anyone wants to make a reference to the commissioner for parliamentary standards, they will investigate any alleged breaches.
“I think in this instance, it will be a very simple and short investigation, because everything has been properly declared.”
A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission said the issue had been “thoroughly investigated” in 2021 and had been “satisfied that the evidence proved beyond reasonable doubt that failures by the association occurred without reasonable excuse”.
She added: “Offences were determined and they were sanctioned accordingly.”
