Starmer latest: Calls for Labour ex-comms chief to lose peerage over ties to paedophile in another blow to PM

Political Correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

Sir Keir Starmer wants to “ensure the highest standards in public life” and has “spent his whole career” fighting child abuse, a minister has said in defence of the prime minister amid the row over his former communications chief’s elevation to the Lords despite ties to a paedophile councillor.

Georgia Gould did not echo calls by Labour’s chairwoman to strip Matthew Doyle of his peerage following his campaigning for Sean Morton in 2017 after he was charged with indecent child image offences, instead saying the government is waiting for the probe into his behaviour to conclude.

The education minister told Sky News: “There’s an investigation going on. We’ll wait for that to conclude. But the Prime Minister said on Monday night that we want to ensure the highest standards in public life. He’s gone back and looked at this appointment. He’s taken action to withdraw the whip.”

Asked whether the government was taking child abuse seriously enough, she said: “We’re taking it incredibly seriously.

“And Keir Starmer is somebody who has spent his whole career putting people into prison, And this is his lifelong work. It is deeply important to him. And no one is harder on themselves than the prime minister. But he’s clear that things need to change. Vetting has to be better.”

Pressed on whether vetting documents should be published, she pointed to the ongoing probe and said “we’ll have more to say when that’s completed”.

Labour’s chairwoman Anna Turley has called for Lord Matthew Doyle to lose his peerage over his ties to paedophile councillor Sean Morton.

Speaking to Sky News, the MP said “what we’d been told was not the truth when that decision was made” in reference to Lord Doyle’s appointment as a peer.

Asked if he should remain a Lord, she said: “No, I don’t think he should. That’s my personal view.

“And just like with Peter Mandelson … we’re going to be making it easier for people who have particularly undertaken criminal offences to be removed from the Lords.

“We don’t have that power at the moment. He’s not committed a criminal offence, but you know … I just think people who have got this kind of record or have not been clear and transparent, there’s no place for them in the Lords.”

The UK has sunk to a new low on a global corruption index amid political turmoil over party donations and as Sir Keir Starmer’s government struggles to recover from the Epstein-Mandelson scandal.

On a scale of 0 to 100, Britain has now slipped to 70, marking the lowest point since the Corruption Perceptions Index underwent a major revamp in 2012. The UK remains 20th on the list for the third consecutive year, despite previously ranking in the top ten positions.

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer reflected on the difficulties faced by his brother as he set out why he was so determined to fight on in No 10.

Sir Keir’s younger brother Nick died aged 60 in 2024.

The prime minister said: “He had difficulties learning when he was growing up, he spent his adult life wandering from job to job in virtual poverty.

“This system, this political system, didn’t work for him and there are billions of people in the same boat, children in poverty, young people who don’t get the opportunities they deserve.

“Millions of people held back because of a system that doesn’t work for them, who are not given the dignity, the respect, the chance that they deserve.

“And I’m fighting for them. I am their prime minister, and this is their government and I will never give up on that fight.”

Sir Keir Starmer was plunged into fresh chaos on Tuesday after weathering the worst political turmoil of his career this week. Lord Matthew Doyle had the Labour whip removed after controversy over his links to a paedophile councillor.

But despite saying he would “never” walk away from his duty to his country, Starmer faces new problems amid rumours that his cabinet secretary Chris Wormald will be the next to quit.

Meanwhile, ministers were warned not to share their messages with Lord Peter Mandelson after Wes Streeting attempted to get ahead of any controversy by releasing them himself.

Scotland Yard said that it is “vital due process is followed” so as not to jeopardise an ongoing investigation.

Sir Keir Starmer’s fightback against an attempted Labour leadership coup has been overshadowed by a fresh scandal involving one of his closest former aides.

Labour announced on Tuesday evening that it had suspended Sir Keir’s former communications chief, Matthew Doyle, who the prime minister elevated to the House of Lords in December, over his links to a convicted paedophile, former councillor Sean Morton.

The latest development will raise fresh questions over Sir Keir’s integrity and judgment, with echoes of the Peter Mandelson scandal, which has already cost him his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney and brought his premiership to the brink of collapse.

The Independent’s political editor David Maddox and Whitehall editor Kate Devlin report:

Sir Keir Starmer’s Cabinet Secretary, Sir Chris Wormald, missed a meeting at the last minute on Tuesday amid rumours that he could be next to leave government.

Mr Wormald was due to attend a meeting of Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) but the ISC said he was unavailable at the last minute, according to a press notice.

Officials filled in for Sir Chris as the committee held an extraordinary meeting to discuss its task of screening files relating to Lord Mandelson to decide what can be released into the public domain.

Baroness Jennifer Chapman of Darlington, minister of state for development, told peers that it was a “bad decision” to appoint Lord Peter Mandelson to the position of US ambassador but that she was “proud” of Sir Keir Starmer’s handling of the situation.

“It’s a bad decision,” she said on Tuesday. “Now, when you make a bad decision in life, especially when you’re the Prime Minister, you’ve got a choice.

“Some prime ministers have stood at the despatch box in the other place (Commons) and told barefaced lies about it.

“Ours didn’t, and I’m proud of him for that.”

The latest chapter in this ongoing crisis for the prime minister, which comes as he tried to draw a line under the chaos within the party after the most turbulent day of his premiership so far, threatens to bring Starmer right back to the brink.

The Independent’s political editor David Maddox reports:

Sir Keir Starmer nominated Lord Matthew Doyle for a peerage despite him having previously campaigned for a councillor charged with child sex offences.

Lord Doyle was nominated for a peerage by the prime minister in December.

Downing Street later admitted that Mr Doyle’s links with Sean Morton were “thoroughly investigated” before he was nominated for a peerage, with several interviews taking place with Mr Doyle himself.