Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing intensifying scrutiny over his judgment after two controversial appointments prompted criticism from both opponents and within Labour ranks.
The latest row centres on his decision to award a peerage to his former communications chief, Matthew Doyle, now Lord Doyle, despite links to a former Labour councillor who was later convicted of child sex offences.
Lord Doyle campaigned in 2017 for Sean Morton at a time when Morton had been charged with child sex offences. Morton was subsequently convicted. It has since emerged that Sir Keir knew of Lord Doyle’s ties to Morton at least two weeks before the peerage was formally confirmed in January.
Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, said the honour should not have been granted.
“I don’t think it should have been awarded in the first place. I don’t think I’m the only person who thinks that, by the way. I think the Prime Minister shares that view,” she told ITV’s Peston.
“But I really think it sends out all the wrong signals to the country and to victims and survivors of sexual abuse, particularly where it involves children.”
Pressed on why the nomination was not withdrawn once further details became public, Ms Nandy said: “The question of why action wasn’t taken more swiftly is one I don’t have an answer to.”
Jake Richards, a justice minister, said Lord Doyle had not provided a “full account” of his association with Morton. He confirmed that Lord Doyle had been stripped of the Labour whip and that an investigation into the circumstances and wider vetting procedures was under way.
The controversy has come only weeks after criticism over Sir Keir’s decision to appoint Lord Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador to the United States.
Lord Mandelson, a former Cabinet minister, previously resigned twice from government. In 1998 he stepped down as Trade and Industry Secretary after failing to declare a personal loan from a Cabinet colleague. In 2001 he resigned as Northern Ireland Secretary amid questions over a passport application linked to an Indian businessman. He was later cleared of wrongdoing in that case and returned to frontline politics, serving again in government from 2008.
His past association with Jeffrey Epstein has also drawn renewed attention following the release of court documents in the United States related to civil litigation involving the late financier. While there has been no suggestion that Lord Mandelson was implicated in Epstein’s criminal conduct, critics argued that appointing him to a senior diplomatic post risked reviving controversy at a sensitive time.
Opposition figures have seized on the twin episodes as evidence of poor judgment at the top of government.
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, questioned the Prime Minister’s decision making in light of the Doyle appointment. “The Prime Minister knew this guy had gone out and campaigned for somebody who’d already been charged with paedophile offences, although not at that moment sentenced, and still put him in the House of Lords,” he told GB News.
“And I just asked the question; does this Prime Minister have poor judgement? Because I really think he does.”
Taken together, the Mandelson and Doyle controversies have fuelled debate in Westminster about the robustness of Downing Street’s vetting processes and the Prime Minister’s approach to senior appointments. With an internal investigation under way and criticism continuing from multiple quarters, the episodes have added to pressure on Sir Keir at a time when his leadership is already under strain.
