"Keir Starmer's longstanding communications chief has been suspended from the Labour whip in his new role in the Lords after it emerged that he had campaigned on behalf of a friend who had been charged with possessing indecent images of children. Matthew Doyle, who stepped down as the No 10 head of communications last March and was made a peer in December, said in a statement that he apologised for his links to Sean Morton,"
"Doyle, who worked for Starmer in opposition and was one of the prime minister's longest-standing aides, has had the Labour whip removed in the Lords. He faced pressure after the Sunday Times reported on his support for Morton even when the councillor had been charged in 2016. According to the paper, after Morton was charged and suspended by Labour, Doyle insisted Morton was innocent and travelled to Scotland to support him as he stood as an independent candidate wearing a top with the slogan, Re-elect Sean Morton."
"She said she would quit the Scottish parliament in May, adding: While this has obviously been a very difficult decision, and it is the greatest honour of my life to represent Glasgow, I do not wish for a personal friendship to become a distraction."
Matthew Doyle, a long-standing communications chief for Keir Starmer who became a peer in December, has been suspended from the Labour whip in the Lords after revelations that he campaigned for Sean Morton, who had been charged and later convicted of possessing indecent images of children. Doyle apologised for his links to Morton. The Sunday Times reported Doyle's support even while Morton faced charges in 2016, including travelling to Scotland to back Morton as an independent candidate. Downing Street says it did not know Doyle had campaigned before his peerage. Scottish Labour also suspended MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy, who will quit the Scottish parliament in May.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]