Amun Bains Journalist

Last summer, an organisation called the Amplifiers tried to recruit me as a journalist to post political content without disclosing who was behind it. When they got on a call with me, they never once mentioned their connections to the Labour party. Here’s what I found when I started digging on LinkedIn.

The original story was broken by Declassified UK in October 2025 with myself as whistleblower.

This is a video I did with No Justice MTG on YouTube explaining the whole situation in full: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJL39CIInT8

But since then I’ve been investigating further and what I’ve found raises serious questions about the relationship between 411 and the heart of the current Labour government.

The Directors

411 has three directors. Let me tell you who they are.

Frances C was a Stakeholder Engagement Officer for Labour from July 2023 to August 2024.

Nik Rutherford was Labour’s Target Seat Digital Lead from January 2023 to December 2024.

Assaf Kaplan — who was on the call when 411 tried to recruit me — was Labour’s Social Listening and Organising Manager from November 2020 to October 2024. He is also a former member of Israel’s Unit 8200, the military intelligence division.

None of this was mentioned when they tried to recruit me.

The Staff

It goes further than the directors.

Ellie Banks, a senior exec at 411, was a Parliamentary Intern for Rachel Reeves from September 2022 to September 2023. She then worked as Communications Officer for Keir Mather MP from January 2024 to January 2025.

Oketa Zogi Shala, a junior exec at 411, shadowed both Keir Starmer and David Lammy.

Molly Bibby, another junior exec, was Digital Content and Communications Manager for Josh Simons MP — who resigned just weeks ago after his think tank was accused of investigating journalists and referring information about them to GCHQ.

What This Means

When 411 approached me they presented themselves as an independent progressive network trying to counter the far right. They asked me to post political content under a Non-Disclosure Agreement without disclosing who was behind it or who was funding it.

They never mentioned that their directors had worked at the heart of the Labour party. They never mentioned links to Starmer, Reeves and Lammy’s offices. They never mentioned the connection to a man who would later resign over allegedly investigating journalists and passing information to intelligence services.

I turned down their offer. But how many others didn’t?

If you were approached by 411 or The Amplifiers contact me at amunbains1@proton.me