Keir Starmer gave peerage to former aide who campaigned for child sex offender
Starmer gave former adviser a peerage despite support for child sex offender
- Matthew Doyle, a former No 10 director of communications, was nominated for a peerage by Sir Keir Starmer despite campaigning for former Scottish Labour councillor Sean Morton.
- Morton was convicted in 2018 for possessing and distributing indecent images of children.
- Downing Street confirmed that Mr Doyle's past links with Morton were "thoroughly investigated" before his nomination to the Lords.
- Mr Doyle has since expressed regret for his support, saying that Morton was “maintaining his innocence” at the time.
- The controversy follows Scottish Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy's decision not to seek re-election due to her own links to Morton, admitting a "serious error of judgement".