The BBC has not seen APCO Worldwide’s report in full however sources accustomed to its contents have confirmed the main points, which have been reported by the Sunday Times.
Sources informed the BBC the US public affairs agency’s report included details about journalist Gabriel Pogrund’s Jewish beliefs and claims about his ideological place.
It additionally claimed, the sources stated, that Pogrund’s earlier reporting, together with on the royal household, “could be seen as destabilising to the UK and also in the interests of Russia’s strategic foreign policy objectives”.
In a contract addressed to Simons, seen by BBC News, APCO Worldwide agreed to research “the sourcing, funding and origins” of the Sunday Times reporting, in addition to the journalist, Paul Holden and Matt Taibbi, an American reporter.
Responding to an pressing query over the problem in Parliament, Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones stated the Cabinet Office investigation had “established the facts” across the allegations and reported them to Sir Keir, who had now referred the problem to his unbiased adviser on ministerial requirements.
“The government is committed to protecting freedom of the press and no journalist should ever be intimidated for trying to hold those in power to account,” he informed MPs.
Simons has beforehand stated he had requested APCO Worldwide to look into “a suspected illegal hack” and claims he wished to research journalists have been “nonsense”.
