It was the think tank which made Keir Starmer leader – but now Labour Together is struggling. The Sunday Times yesterday splashed on the news that the institute had commissioned covert research on two of its journalists in order to undermine their coverage of the organisation. In response, Alison Phillips, the new CEO of Labour Together, sent an email to staff about the ‘shocking’ and ‘deeply concerning’ revelations. Phillips told staff that:

We are trying to get to the bottom of what exactly happened and will help with any appropriate inquiry into what may have happened in the past and, where there are lessons to be learned from what happened more than two years ago, we will do so. But our focus must be on the future.

But does Labour Together really have much of one? The Tories are certainly doing their damnedest to make the most of the scandal. Kevin Hollinrake, the Yorkshire terrier and party chairman, has written to his Labour counterpart demanding that ‘all Labour Party engagement’ with Labour Together be suspended ‘until all allegations have been independently investigated.’ The SNP meanwhile have demanded that MPs who have received funds from Labour Together now return the money. Well, they would say that, wouldn’t they?

Yet criticism is not confined to Labour’s opponents in parliament. Clive Lewis, the MP for Norwich South, is demanding that:

The Labour party, and the Prime Minister, should now commit to full co-operation with an independent inquiry to establish the facts: what was commissioned, who authorised it, who knew about it, and how far it went. It is not sufficient for those at the top to shrug or plead ignorance. Leadership, as the PM frequently opines, carries responsibility.

Others are privately briefing the Telegraph that there should be a probe into Josh Simons, Phillips’ predecessor as Labour Together CEO, who now serves as both an MP and minister in the Cabinet Office. The fact that parliament is in recess is something of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, no one can put down an Urgent Question on Simons; on the other, a lack of other news means the story can run and run.

So much for Labour Together: more like Labour Coming Apart…