Labour peer Matthew Doyle has been suspended from the parliamentary party after it emerged he campaigned for a friend convicted of possessing indecent images of children. Doyle, who served as Keir Starmer's head of communications until last March and was made a peer in December, apologised for his association with Sean Morton, a former Labour councillor in Scotland.
Doyle faced pressure following a Sunday Times report detailing his support for Morton after the councillor was charged in 2016. According to the report, Doyle insisted Morton was innocent and travelled to Scotland to campaign for him as an independent candidate wearing a top with the slogan 'Re-elect Sean Morton'. Morton was later convicted in 2018 and placed on the sex offender register.
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.' He added that he had 'extremely limited' subsequent contact with Morton and had not seen or spoken to him in years. Doyle said he would not take the Labour whip.
The controversy is an embarrassment for Starmer, who has denied knowing about Doyle's relationship with Morton before awarding the peerage. Downing Street said the issue was being looked at again following the reports. Meanwhile, Scottish Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy, who stepped down as education spokesperson in December over her friendship with Morton, announced she would quit the Scottish parliament in May.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch criticised Starmer, saying: 'Keir Starmer handed a peerage to Matthew Doyle despite knowing about his ongoing friendship with a man charged with child sex crimes. The prime minister has now suspended the whip, but he must come clean about what he was told before making this appointment.'
