Theresa May’s Tories are paying a private ‘smear factory’ staffed by senior former party officials to dig up dirt on Labour, the Mirror has been told.

Senior Tory sources said the Party has engaged the services of UK Policy Group, a private ‘dark arts’ firm to carry out opposition research.

UK Policy Group is the UK arm of a notorious American political attack organisation, which has worked for Donald Trump’s administration and has aggressively targeted his critics.

Two former Number 10 officials are advising the firm.

Employees of the company dig into the personal histories, online videos and posts of Labour candidates, collecting dossiers to be handed to the Tory party, according to sources.

It's understood information is then handed to right-wing websites and newspapers to back up negative articles.

The Conservative Party failed to respond to six calls and an email inviting them to comment.

UK Policy Group Ltd declined to comment.

Outsourcing opposition research

(Image: ukpolicy.co.uk)

It’s believed to be the first time a major British political party has been accused of ‘outsourcing’ its attack research to a private company, a tactic frequently used in US elections.

A string of former Tory high flyers now work for the firm, which was launched in London last January, including former Number 10 staffers and ex-party researchers.

The firm’s UK Vice President is Andrew Goodfellow , a ‘super sleuth’ who was formerly the Conservative Party’s Director of Policy and Research.

Mr Goodfellow did not respond to a request for comment.

Staff working out of the firm’s plush Victoria Street offices, just a stone’s throw from Westminster, also include the Tory party’s former head of media monitoring and a former member of George Osborne’s communications team.

(Image: www.alamy.com)

Official documents reveal David Cameron ’s former director of strategy, Ameetpal Gill, was given permission by parliamentary authorities to accept a contract advising the firm through his political strategy company Hanbury Strategy.

And Chris Brannigan , Theresa May’s former Director of Government Relations is a member of the group’s advisory board, though he told the Mirror his role does not involve carrying out opposition research.

He said: “I advise them on the strategic political scene and interpretation of political activities. Dull stuff.”

A senior Tory source told the Mirror: “It isn’t surprising that under Theresa May the party has to outsource its ideas.”

Links to Donald Trump and the Republican attack machine

UK Policy Group is the London branch of Definers Public Affairs , an elite American opposition research firm set up by two senior Republicans, Matt Rhoades , who ran Mitt Romney’s 2012 bid for the White House, and Joe Pounder the former head of research for the Republican Party.

Mr Rhoades and Mr Pounder were also founders of America Rising, a notorious Political Action Committee which solely exists to attack Democrats and opponents of Donald Trump.

Last year, lawyers working with America Rising embarked on a “witch hunt” of US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) employees who had criticised Donald Trump or his EPA director Scott Pruitt, according to the New York Times.

The lawyers requested copies of all emails sent by staff mentioning the President or Pruitt, sending a “wave of fear” through the staff that they faced public retribution for speaking out against the Trump administration’s watering down of environmental protections.

“This is a witch hunt against E.P.A. employees who are only trying to protect human health and the environment,” Gary Morton, an E.P.A. employee in Philadelphia told the New York Times in December.

Raj Shah , a co-founder of America Rising LLC joined the Trump White House as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Communications Director and Research Director in January 2017.

And Trump’s Special Counsel, Ann Donaldson formerly provided legal services to America Rising.

When UK Policy Group was first founded in January 2017, it was registered with Companies House under the name UK Rising Ltd, according to official documents.

Mr Pounder boasted to Time Magazine in 2016 that their file on Hillary Clinton ran to “over 7,000 pages of distilled research” and more than 10,000 videos.

Their tactics are said to include sending dozens of 'trackers' to follow Democratic candidates and politicians around with video cameras in the hope of capturing unflattering footage.

In 2015 alone, their operatives reportedly attended around 3,500 Democratic Party events.

'Campaign style research dossiers'

UK Policy Group’s website boasts of their ability to create “campaign-style research dossiers, providing a comprehensive, detailed analysis of publicly available information on our targets’ record, background and views.

It adds: “Offering unparalleled depth of research, we also package the key insights into top hits that can be used by your communications team to inform their media strategies.”

Other services on offer include “war-room media monitoring” and “self vetting” to help parties find vulnerabilities in their own candidates’ histories.

Ian Lavery MP, Labour Party Chair, said: “I am disappointed but not surprised to hear that in an attempt to deflect from their total lack of direction and policy, the Tories are reduced to digging low and dragging British politics through the gutter, in the desperate hope that they may find some salacious morsel.

“This kind of base mudslinging has no place in British democratic debate, and deflects from the real issues facing people today. It is time that Theresa May stops spending money and effort on these tactics and focuses on policies to improve the lives of those who have suffered because of her government’s heartless policies.”

Former Lib Dem Leader and Best for Britain Champion Tim Farron said: "The Conservative party are notorious for throwing smears and muck around at people.

"This murky UK Policy Group, stuffed to gills with ex-advisors are doing the dirty work for Tory HQ now.

"It sounds like the smear factory has been outsourced, but you know the Tories, they will privatise anything."

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In October 2017, historic online posts by Jared O’Mara were exposed by a right-wing blog, which included sexist and homophobic jokes posted in the mid 2000s.

Days later, Mr Goodfellow wrote for website Reaction , saying O’Mara had been a “victim of his own stupidity”, but suggesting both Labour and the rival Lib Dems should have “bothered to do some due diligence” on Mr O’Mara before the election.