Ex-Labour comms chief Lord Doyle suspended over links to sex offender

Lord Doyle issued an apology, acknowledging a significant lapse in judgment: “To have not ceased support ahead of a judicial conclusion was a clear error of judgement for which I apologise unreservedly.” He admitted that those who trusted Morton’s assurances were mistaken and emphasized that he never sought to downplay the gravity of the crimes for which Morton was convicted. “They are clearly abhorrent and I have never questioned his conviction,” Lord Doyle stated.

Following Morton’s conviction, Lord Doyle explained that his interaction with him was extremely limited. He highlighted that he had not seen or spoken to Morton for several years, except for two occasions when he attended events organized by others and once when he checked on Morton’s welfare after concerns were raised by other people.

Lord Doyle, who served as the Labour Party’s head of press between 1998 and 2005 and later worked for Lord Blunkett and Sir Tony Blair, was awarded a peerage by Sir Keir last December. He formally joined the House of Lords last month. The controversy surrounding Lord Doyle first came to public attention through a report by The Sunday Times in December last year, which detailed his support for Morton. This prompted the Conservative Party to demand transparency regarding the vetting process that led to Lord Doyle’s peerage.

In response to the unfolding situation, a Labour Party spokesperson confirmed that “all complaints are assessed thoroughly in line with our rules and procedures.” An investigation is underway, and Lord Doyle’s Labour whip in the House of Lords has been suspended while it continues. The controversy has raised questions for Sir Keir, who faced scrutiny at a recent Parliamentary Labour Party meeting, with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch publicly challenging the prime minister to explain why he appointed another associate of a convicted sex offender to a prestigious position. This comes in the context of the PM’s earlier controversial appointment of Lord Mandelson as US ambassador, despite Mandelson’s known connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, for which the PM has since apologized to Epstein’s victims. Following Lord Doyle’s suspension, Badenoch insisted that the prime minister must be transparent about what he knew prior to the appointment, warning, “We won’t let this go.

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