No 10 admits Starmer knew ex-aide Lord Doyle backed paedophile | UK | News

Sir Keir Starmer has floated a candidacy bid for a former aide, even after it was learned the man had “supported” a councilor later convicted of child sex offenses, believing him to be innocent.

Lord Doyle, Downing Street’s former head of communications, admitted to Number 10 that he stood by Sean Morton, the former Labor councilor for Moray, after he was accused of possessing and distributing indecent images of children.

The story deepens the cloud hanging over Starmer’s leadership and comes hot on the heels of the controversy over Lord Mandelson’s ties to convicted pedophile and financier Jeffrey Epstein when he was Britain’s ambassador to Washington.

Six weeks of inactivity

Starmer refused to reverse his decision to elevate Doyle to the rank of Lords for more than six weeks after discovering that Doyle had actively supported Morton’s bid to become an independent councilor while he faced sexual offenses charges.

It took pressure from female Labor MPs and ministers to push Starmer to finally withdraw the whip from Doyle this week.

Under prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch accused Starmer of appointing “pedophile apologists” to key roles.

Starmer replied: “Matthew Doyle has not given a full explanation of his actions. I promised my party and my country that there would be change and yesterday I raised the whip on Matthew Doyle.”

How were concerns expressed?

The issue first came to light on December 4, when concerns were raised with Morgan McSweeney, who was acting as Starmer’s chief of staff at the time. McSweeney decided he was too close to the situation to deal with Doyle directly and instead asked Starmer’s then communications director Tim Allan to handle the matter, The Times reported.

After a series of conversations, Allan pressed Doyle about the nature of his relationship with Morton. He said Doyle “believed Morton’s pleas of innocence before his conviction and supported him throughout this time.”

What Doyle chose not to reveal was that he had backed himself into Morton’s corner even after the accusations had been made and Labor had shown Morton the door. Allan’s report came back to Starmer, who continued his ennoblement announcement on 10 December.

Window of opportunity missed

The Sunday Times revealed by December 27 that Doyle was throwing his weight behind Morton’s 2017 council campaign while the accusations were ongoing. Despite this, Doyle’s letter patent – the official document establishing entitlement – was not sealed until January 8, meaning Starmer had almost two weeks to act before the appointment was finalised.

Downing Street insisted there was “no established precedent” for the withdrawal of peerage after it was made public. But House of Lords clerks told the Conservative Party: “We are not aware of any impediments to HMG. [His Majesty’s government] To stop or delay an appointment to the House before the letters patent are sealed.”

Doyle accused of misleading Prime Minister

Starmer’s view is that Doyle deliberately hid the fact that he was working to get Morton elected.

Allan said: “The Prime Minister is right to say that Doyle did not tell me about his campaign in the council election for Morton.

“However, Doyle told me that he believed Morton’s pleas of innocence before his conviction and supported him throughout this time.”

Questions also swirled about Allan’s suitability to lead the investigation, given his long history with Doyle. The pair date back almost three decades, when they worked together in communications during the Blair years, but sources say relations were never very close.

Lord Doyle and No 10 were contacted via email for comment.