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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has removed the Labour whip from Lord Matthew Doyle, his former communications chief, after stating Doyle «did not give a full account» of his past campaigning for a paedophile councillor. The move intensifies pressure on Starmer's leadership following a turbulent week that saw two Downing Street departures and a resignation call from the Scottish Labour leader.
Lord Doyle campaigned for Sean Morton in May 2017 when Morton ran as an Independent candidate, months after Morton appeared in court charged with possessing indecent images of children. Labour had suspended Morton following his court appearance in late 2016. Morton later admitted to the charges.
The Sunday Times revealed Doyle's association with Morton in late December, after Doyle's peerage was announced. Doyle had already taken up his seat in the House of Lords by January and did not disclose the campaigning during vetting processes.
Starmer announced the whip removal during Prime Minister's Questions. «Matthew Doyle did not give a full account of his actions,» he said. «On Monday I promised my party and my country there will be change. And yesterday I removed the whip from Matthew Doyle.»
Opposition parties accused the Prime Minister of a «catastrophic lack of judgment» and using the same approach as with Lord Peter Mandelson's appointment. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch highlighted that Starmer knew about Doyle's association with Morton before he entered the Lords. «Despite the Prime Minister knowing this, he gave Doyle a job for life in the House of Lords anyway,» she said during PMQs.
Calls for full peerage removal
Labour's chairwoman Anna Turley stated Lord Doyle should not remain a peer. Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey told the Commons: «To appoint one paedophile supporter cannot be excused as 'misfortune'. To appoint two shows a catastrophic lack of judgment.» SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn accused Starmer of being «the most gullible former Director of Public Prosecutions in history».
Downing Street declined to commit to stripping Doyle of his peerage. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: «There's no established precedent for withdrawing a peerage nomination after the announcement stage. That's why we're undertaking wider reform to both vetting and appointment processes.»
Lord Doyle apologised «unreservedly» for supporting Morton before the case concluded, claiming he believed Morton's innocence at the time and had «extremely limited» contact with him after conviction. Starmer's spokesman told journalists: «We're just not going to get ahead of the investigation.»
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
