A PR executive and former Labour spin doctor whose firm made ‘repeated threats of violence’ against a client is embroiled in a new financial dispute involving a high-profile hotel chain, the Mail can reveal.
Daniel Hughes, 42, personally donated £10,000 to Wes Streeting between March 2022 and October 2023, and held a fundraising dinner for him at the home of Labour donor Lord Alli.
Two months after the event in March 2022, a judge said Mr Hughes, from Liverpool, had encouraged his brother, ‘knowing how threatening he could appear’, to recover money from the CEO of a solar company after the relationship between them soured.
Brendan Hughes turned up unannounced at the offices of ESE Group with John McCormick, who had previously been jailed for intimidation.
Gary Fredson, the firm’s chief executive, told Liverpool County Court that Mr McCormick threatened him by saying ‘he knew who he was and where he lived with his wife and children’.
Daniel Hughes, from Liverpool, sought to distance himself from the threats, but Judge Cadwallader said the spin doctor ‘directly or indirectly’ asked him to go and recover the money.
Daniel Hughes, 42, a former Labour spin doctor, (right) donated £10,000 to Wes Streeting
Mr Hughes with Jamie Carragher and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer
The judge added: ‘This was a serious case of intimidation, and repeated threats of violence… in the hope of gain.’
He noted that Mr Hughes’ firm, This Generation, had invoiced Mr Fredson ‘£19,000 plus VAT plus the £350 photography’, but Mr Hughes had then demanded over email a higher amount of ‘£34,200 including VAT’ – including an extra fee for March 2020 even though the contract had already been terminated by that point.
Mr Fredson eventually paid the higher bill, but Judge Cadwallader found that he only did so because of the ‘intimidating visit he had received and the threats of violence which were made thereafter’.
The judge ordered This Generation to repay 50 per cent of Mr Fredson’s ‘overpayment’ for March 2020, which amounted to £4,750, on top of damages for intimidation.
Three years on from the court judgment, Mr Hughes is now involved in a new financial row over claims he overcharged Liverpool-based Signature Living Hotel Limited for a contract to provide them with PR services from 2016 to 2019.
Signature Living was behind glitzy venues including the Shankly Hotel, which starred in The Grand Party Hotel – a BBC series following its colourful owner, Lawrence Kenwright.
Stars such as Stephen Graham have been guests at the hotel, whileTom Hardy visited Cotton Street Project, a homeless shelter Mr Kenwright set up.
After experiencing financial difficulties, Signature Living Hotel Limited went bust, with administrators appointed in April 2020 to manage the wind-up process.
On March 9, 2021, an administrator wrote to Mr Hughes, accusing him – through his other PR firm PRD Associates – of overcharging the company by £52,806.
Mr Hughes at a 2022 fundraising dinner at Lord Alli’s home with Sir Ian McKellen, Kim Leadbeater and Mr Streeting
The PR executive with Oasis star Noel Gallagher
The Shankly Hotel in Liverpool, which featured in The Grand Party Hotel – a BBC series following its colourful owner, Lawrence Kenwright
The letter reads: ‘The original agreement between yourself and the Company’s director, Lawrence Kenwright, was that charges should not have exceeded £6,000 inclusive of VAT, however the difference between what should have been charged and what was actually charged now stands at £52,806.’
The administrator asked Mr Hughes to repay the balance within 14 working days.
A source close to the hotel business claimed the money was not paid back.
The Mail sent a copy of the letter to Mr Hughes, who responded on December 17 by claiming that neither he nor his accountants had ever seen the letter before ‘as the office address listed is incorrect and the email address listed has been defunct since 2018’.
A day later, his lawyers, Mishcon de Reya, wrote that he ‘disputes the allegations’ that he overcharged Signature Living Hotel Limited.
They added that no one had ‘ever raised any concerns about the amounts of any invoices’ issued by PRD Associates, ‘in writing or otherwise’.
Mr Hughes, a former Labour councillor, has donated thousands to senior Labour figures in recent years.
Alongside his donation to Mr Streeting, he also gave £3,000 to Brent East MP Dawn Butler, and £5,000 to Kim Leadbeater, the MP for Spen Valley – which included a £500 ticket to the 2023 Women’s Football Awards.
In 2022, Sir Ian McKellen was one of the big-name guests at a dinner organised by Mr Hughes at the London home of Labour donor Lord Alli to raise funds for Mr Streeting, who is now a favourite to replace Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister.
A Labour Party source told the Express that Mr Hughes was also close to Angela Rayner, another big name now said to be plotting against the Labour leader.
Judge Neil Cadwallader said Daniel Hughes encouraged his brother Brendan (pictured), ‘knowing how threatening he could appear’ to recover money from a client
This Generation also donated four tickets for a Football for Change Gala tickets worth £800 to Ms Rayner in November 2023.
Over recent years, Mr Hughes has been heavily involved in CIC company Football for Change, which works with stars such as Noel Gallagher and Jamie Carragher to raise money for good causes.
Mr Carragher attended Mr Hughes’ wedding earlier this year in Spain.
In a biography on his company’s website, Mr Hughes was described as one of the most influential PR men in the UK. The website has since been deleted.
Mr Streeting defended the Labour Party during a donations storm last year when he told Newsnight he was ‘really proud of people who want to contribute … their money to politics.’
