Sir Keir Starmer’s ex-communications chief should be stripped of his peerage over his ties to a paedophile councillor, Labour’s chairwoman has said.
Anna Turley MP told Sky News “there’s no place […] in the Lords” for people like Matthew Doyle, who she suggested hadn’t been truthful before being elevated to parliament’s upper chamber earlier this year.
Lord Doyle apologised and was suspended from Labour on Tuesday for his links to Sean Morton, who he campaigned for in 2017 after he had been charged over indecent images of children.
The peer said he had believed Morton’s initial assertions of innocence at the time, before he later pled guilty.
Downing Street 10 was not aware Lord Doyle had campaigned for Morton at the time of his appointment, it is understood, and Ms Turley said “what we’d been told was not the truth when that decision was made”.
Asked if he should remain a peer, she told Sky News: “No, I don’t think he should. That’s my personal view.”
“There’s no place for them in the Lords” for people who “have not been clear and transparent”, she added.
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Lord Doyle has apologised “unreservedly” for supporting Morton, who was a councillor in Moray, Scotland.
He first appeared in court in connection with indecent child images in late 2016, and was suspended by Labour.
He was running as an independent when Lord Doyle campaigned for him in May 2017. He didn’t plead guilty until November that year.
Lord Doyle said he had “extremely limited” contact with him after his conviction, and described his offences as “vile”.
“My thoughts are with the victims and all those impacted by these crimes,” he added.
He continued: “At the point of my campaigning support,…
