Downing Street was not aware that Keir Starmer’s longstanding communications chief had campaigned for a paedophile when his peerage was announced, a minister has said.
Matthew Doyle, who stepped down as the No 10 head of communications last March, was suspended on Monday from the Labour whip in his new role in the Lords after it emerged that he had campaigned on behalf of a friend who had been charged with possessing indecent images of children.
Questions about the peerage overshadowed attempts to promote a multibillion pound announcement on special educational needs support on Wednesday and added to continuing pressure facing Starmer about his own decision to make Peter Mandelson ambassador to Washington despite his close links to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender.
“No 10 did not know before they made the decision to give him the peerage,” the schools minister, Georgia Gould, told Sky News when questioned about the Doyle peerage.
Challenged about the fact that a Sunday Times story reported on 27 December that Downing Street had investigated Doyle’s continued support for Sean Morton after he was charged with indecent child image offences, Gould said the announcement was made on 10 December.
“But I think the prime minister has looked at this afresh, given the commitment that he has made to ensure the highest standards in public life.”
The Labour party chair, Anna Turley, said on Tuesday that it was her “personal view” that Doyle’s peerage should be taken away.
However, Gould declined to echo those calls, referring to an ongoing investigation by the party, and adding: “We’ll wait for that to conclude. But the prime minister said on Monday night that we want to ensure the highest standards in public life.”
However, she told Times Radio that the vetting process for appointments to the House of Lords had to change in light of the decision to remove the whip from the peer.
Doyle faced pressure after the Sunday Times reported on his support for Morton even when the councillor had been charged in 2016.
According to the paper, after Morton was charged and suspended by Labour, Doyle insisted Morton was innocent and travelled to Scotland to support him as he stood as an independent candidate wearing a top with the slogan: “Re-elect Sean Morton.”
It is understood that Starmer wanted the issue looked at again, after the reports, and that he and Downing Street say they did not know that Doyle had campaigned for Morton before he was made a peer.
Meanwhile, Scottish Labour suspended the party whip of MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy, who stepped down as education spokesperson in December after disclosures about her friendship with Morton.
In a statement, Doyle said: “I want to apologise for my past association with Sean Morton. His offences were vile and I completely condemn the actions for which he was rightly convicted. My thoughts are with the victims and all those impacted by these crimes.”
