Labour comms director helped write manifesto while still working at TikTok

"The ask to enter No 10 came out of the blue, he said. I had helped Labour during the election by rewriting the manifesto to make it more compelling (and remove bear traps where I could). To ensure security this was done, in spare time over evenings and weekends, on a laptop that didn't leave the party HQ. Rightly, there was never any promise of a job."

"Lyons, a former journalist at the Mirror and the Sunday Times, first joined TikTok as the company's head of European corporate and policy communications. While there he earned a reputation as a fierce defender of the company, especially in the face of allegations that its Chinese ownership could undermine the data security of its western users. He was still in that role in the run-up to the election, when he went to work for Labour on the manifesto."

A senior TikTok executive wrote on LinkedIn that he helped rewrite Labour's election manifesto while still working for the Chinese-owned company. The executive said the work was done in spare time, over evenings and weekends, on a laptop that remained at party headquarters and that no job was promised. Labour said thousands volunteered their spare time during the general election. The executive previously worked as a journalist and joined TikTok as head of European corporate and policy communications, defending the company amid concerns about Chinese ownership and data security. The role focused on rewriting manifesto text rather than formulating policy.

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