Starmer latest: PM faces fresh furore over judgement after paedophile-linked former comms chief suspended from Labour

Sir Keir Starmer has told ministers they need to “get their act together” after being warned not to monitor Wes Streeting’s broadcast of messages with Peter Mandelson during a police investigation into allegations of misconduct in a public office.

In a message to officials, the Cabinet Office is understood to have told members of the Government that they should not share material that could be covered by a House of Commons motion mandating the release of documents relating to his colleague’s appointment as US ambassador.

Scotland Yard has warned that “vital process must be followed” to avoid jeopardizing the investigation following accusations that it passed market-sensitive information to Jeffrey Epstein in the 2000s.

On Monday, the health minister shared the text of messages from August 2024 to October 2025 in which he said Labor had no growth strategy and referred to Israel as a “rogue state”.

Sir Keir Starmer’s fight against a Labor-led coup attempt has been overshadowed by a new scandal involving one of his closest former aides.

Labor announced on Tuesday evening that it had sacked Sir Keir’s former communications chief, Matthew Doyle, whom the prime minister elevated to the House of Lords in December, over his links to former councilor Sean Morton, a convicted pedophile.

The latest development will raise new questions about Sir Keir’s integrity and judgment and bring with it echoes of the Peter Mandelson scandal; The scandal had already cost him his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, and brought his premiership to the brink of collapse.

The Independent’s political editor David Maddox and Whitehall editor Kate Devlin report:

Baroness Chapman of Darlington told colleagues it was a “bad decision” to appoint Lord Peter Mandelson to the position of US ambassador but she was “proud” of the way Sir Keir Starmer handled the situation.

“This is a bad decision,” he said Tuesday.

“Now when you make a bad decision in life, especially when you become Prime Minister, you have a choice.

“Some prime ministers stood at the letterbox elsewhere (in the House of Commons) and told blatant lies about this.

“Ours didn’t happen, and I’m proud of him for that.”

The latest chapter in the ongoing crisis for the prime minister, who has struggled to draw a line under the chaos within his party after the most turbulent day of his term as prime minister to date, threatens to push Starmer back to the brink.

David Maddox, political editor of The Independent, reports:

Far from infighting and scandal, Labor is set to fight a crucial by-election in Gorton and Denton.

But voters now think they are considering leaving the party and the choice is between Reform and the Greens.

Correspondent Dan Haygarth He traveled around the constituency to talk to voters:

Lord Matthew Doyle admitted he had contact with pedophile councilor Sean Morton following his conviction but those contacts were “extremely limited”.

“Any contact following his conviction was extremely limited and I haven’t seen or spoken to him for years,” he said.

“On two occasions I attended events organized by others which he attended and once saw him checking on his welfare after concerns had been raised through others.”

He said the reason for the latter was: “I acted to seek to ensure the welfare of a troubled individual by fully condemning the crimes for which he was convicted and by making clear that my thoughts are with the victims of those crimes. I am sorry for the mistakes I have made. I will not take the Labor whip.”

In his statement on the Sean Morton case, Lord Doyle said: “Those who took his word were clearly mistaken.

“I have never sought to dismiss or minimize the seriousness of the crimes for which he was rightly convicted. They are clearly abhorrent and I have never questioned his conviction.”

“Following the conviction any contact was extremely limited and I have not seen or spoken to him for years. I was twice at events organized by others which he attended, and once to check on his welfare after concerns had been raised through others.

“I have acted to promote the well-being of a troubled individual by fully condemning the crimes for which he was convicted and making clear that my thoughts are with the victims of those crimes.

“I’m sorry for the mistakes I’ve made. I won’t take the Labor whip.”

“For the avoidance of doubt, let me finish where I started. Morton’s crimes were despicable and my only concern is for his victims.”

Sir Keir Starmer has nominated Lord Matthew Doyle for the peerage despite having previously campaigned for a councilor accused of child sexual offences.

Lord Doyle was nominated for the peerage by the prime minister in December.

Downing Street later admitted that Mr Doyle’s links to Sean Morton were “fully investigated” before he was nominated, and that several interviews were conducted with Mr Doyle himself.

Lord Matthew Doyle has apologized for his past relationship with a pedophile councilor and said he will not take up the Labor whip in a shock statement on Tuesday afternoon.

Former Labor councilor Sean Morton admitted possessing indecent images of children in November 2017.

Lord Doyle campaigned for Morton when he ran as an Independent in May 2017.

Lord Doyle said: “I would like to apologize for my past association with Sean Morton. His crimes were despicable and I completely condemn the actions for which he was rightly convicted. My thoughts are with the victims and everyone affected by these crimes.

“During my campaign support, Morton repeatedly claimed his innocence to everyone who knew him, especially in court. He later changed his plea in court to guilty.

“It was a clear error of judgment that I did not withhold support before the judicial outcome, for which I apologize unreservedly.”