Prime Minister Faces Intense Scrutiny Over Controversial Peerage Appointment
Keir Starmer is confronting escalating demands to provide full transparency regarding his decision to elevate his former communications director, Matthew Doyle, to the House of Lords. The Prime Minister has come under severe criticism for granting a peerage to Doyle, despite being aware that Doyle had actively campaigned for a former Labour councillor, Sean Morton, after Morton was charged with child sex offences.
Mounting Political Pressure and Internal Dissent
Sir Keir revoked the Labour whip from Lord Doyle on Tuesday following complaints from female Labour MPs. However, Downing Street has struggled to justify why the peerage was approved just twelve days after media reports exposed Doyle's association with Morton. This appointment draws parallels to the Prime Minister's earlier controversial decision to reinstate Peter Mandelson as US ambassador, despite warnings about Mandelson's friendship with the notorious paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
In the House of Commons this week, Conservative MP Kemi Badenoch highlighted what she described as a 'pattern of behaviour' in Sir Keir's appointments, accusing him of filling the Lords with 'paedophile apologists'. The Conservative Party is now insisting on the release of all documents related to Doyle's appointment, including details of a Labour investigation into the relationship between Doyle and Morton, as well as confidential advice provided to Sir Keir by the House of Lords Appointments Commission.
Internal Labour Unrest and Broader Criticisms
Shadow Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart informed MPs on Thursday that, in light of the Mandelson scandal, the circumstances of Lord Doyle's appointment have become 'a matter of acute public interest'. Labour MP Emma Lewell-Buck privately warned Sir Keir that a series of scandals has led some constituents to label Labour as the 'paedo protectors party', with people reportedly shouting this at her in the street.
Downing Street has rejected calls for document disclosure, stating that an internal Labour Party review into Lord Doyle's appointment is currently in progress. The Conservatives are considering forcing a Commons vote to compel the release of the Doyle papers, which would require support from Labour MPs to succeed. There are indications of growing frustration within Labour ranks regarding this appointment.
Senior Figures Voice Concerns and Union Threatens Break
When questioned about whether Lord Doyle should be stripped of his peerage, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy responded, 'I don't think it should have been awarded in the first place.' Nandy also expressed broader worries about a perceived 'boys club' culture in Number 10, noting that some briefings against female ministers have been 'dripping with misogyny'. She told the Guardian that the government's recent performance was 'unforgivable', adding that it appears to outsiders that the party is more focused on internal matters than preventing chaos.
Nandy further questioned Sir Keir's capacity for change, remarking, 'You know he is an actual person? You can't revamp a person.' Unite union leader Sharon Graham criticised the 'shame and shambles' surrounding the government in recent weeks and hinted that the major union might sever its historic ties with Labour. Graham argued that the ideals upon which the Labour Party was founded have been 'corrupted, most likely irretrievably', and in the Financial Times, she pondered, 'The questions being asked are: what is Labour for and who is it for?'
Cross-Party Challenges and Calls for Accountability
Three Conservative MPs—Mims Davies, Alicia Kearns, and Katie Lam—have challenged safeguarding minister Jess Phillips to address the controversies involving Lords Mandelson and Doyle. In a letter to Phillips, they raised concerns about a 'pattern of behaviour at the top of Government'. Lam told the Mail that Phillips's 'silence is an insult to those she is meant to represent' and urged her to 'come out of hiding and start standing up for victims'.
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice asserted that Lord Doyle should be 'on the first list to be removed' when new legislation is introduced to allow peers to be stripped of their titles. Sir Keir informed MPs that Lord Doyle failed to provide a 'full account' of his relationship with Morton, who in 2017 admitted to possessing extreme pornography and images of naked girls as young as ten.
Former Number 10 communications chief Tim Allan revealed to the Times that Lord Doyle acknowledged initially supporting Morton because he believed Morton's claims of innocence until his conviction. However, Allan noted that Doyle did not inform Downing Street about his campaigning for Morton when Morton stood as an independent after being suspended by Labour. Lord Doyle has apologised for an error in judgment but maintains he had only very limited contact with Morton after Morton admitted to the offences.
