Keir Starmer faces fresh questions over judgment after Lord Doyle controversy

Sir Keir Starmer is facing renewed questions about his judgment in a row over the appointment of his former spin doctor to the House of Lords after the aide campaigned for a paedophile councillor.

The Prime Minister said on Wednesday ex-communications chief Lord Matthew Doyle, who supported Sean Morton after he had been charged with having indecent images of children, had not given a “full account of his actions” when he was given a peerage.

Lord Doyle has had the Labour whip removed and apologised for backing Morton before the case against him had concluded, saying he believed the paedophile’s assertions of innocence before Morton admitted the offending.

It is understood that the campaigning was not disclosed during the former aide’s vetting.

However, Tim Allan – who until this week was communications chief in No 10 – said that Lord Doyle had confirmed he believed Morton before his conviction and had been “supportive” during that time, as first reported by The Times.

Mr Allan said he had been asked to speak with the peer while in Downing Street by Sir Keir’s former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney about Lord Doyle’s relationship with Morton.

“I accurately relayed what Doyle had told me to the PM,” Mr Allan said in a statement issued to the Press Association.

“The PM is right to state that Doyle did not tell me about his campaigning in a council election for Morton.

“Doyle did however tell me that he had believed Morton’s protestations of innocence prior to his conviction and had been supportive of him during that time.”

It comes after Sir Keir survived the immediate threat to his leadership earlier this week when his Cabinet rallied around him with public messages of support after Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called for him to quit amid the fallout from the Peter Mandelson scandal.

Critics say the recent controversies have exposed a “boys’ club” within Downing Street – which No 10 rejects – and the Prime Minister was urged on Wednesday to appoint a woman as his de facto deputy in Government.

He said he would consider the suggestion made by former deputy leader Baroness Harriet Harman at a meeting with female Labour parliamentarians, repeated his apology for appointing Lord Mandelson, and added that he looked forward to working with them to tackle misogyny and violence against women and girls.

In a series of broadcast interviews on Wednesday evening, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said Lord Doyle should never been given a peerage and that she believed the Prime Minister “shares that view”.

Downing Street has declined to commit to stripping the former aide of the honour, arguing this could prejudice a Labour investigation into the appointment.

And asked how proud she was to serve in a Labour Government that gave the Washington job to Lord Mandelson given his links to Epstein, Ms Nandy told ITV’s Peston show: “Absolutely not proud at all. What’s lower than one on a scale?”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves will face questions from the press during a visit on Thursday, while other Labour figures, including former deputy leader Angela Rayner and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who both expressed support for the Prime Minister despite recent speculation about their own ambitions, will also attend a public-facing event in Liverpool.

Sir Keir has sought to move on from speculation about his future in Downing Street after renewed scrutiny of Lord Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to the US despite his association with Jeffrey Epstein.

But the Prime Minister is expected to continue efforts to shake up his No 10 operation, with the country’s top civil servant Sir Chris Wormald believed to be on his way out imminently.

In a highly unusual intervention on Wednesday evening, former permanent secretary at the Foreign Office Lord Simon McDonald said there should be a “full process” to appoint a new Cabinet Secretary and that “needs to start from scratch”.

Rumours have swirled in Westminster that Sir Keir intends to replace Sir Chris with Dame Antonia Romeo, a civil servant who also worked at the Foreign Office during Lord McDonald’s tenure.

Asked what should happen now, the peer told Channel 4 News on Wednesday evening: “This is the most important job in the civil service. It can’t be chosen on the fly.”

He added: “If the Prime Minister wants a new Cabinet Secretary, he needs to start from scratch.

“Due diligence is vitally important. The Prime Minister has recent bitter experience of doing the due diligence too late.

“It would be an unnecessary tragedy to repeat that mistake.”

He said he would prefer to go into detail about this with No 10, and that he had “been in touch today and not had a response”.

The Prime Minister’s chief of staff Mr McSweeney and communications chief Mr Allan have already departed as he seeks to revive his fortunes after a bruising start to 2026.