No 10 is facing intense scrutiny after Sir Keir Starmer’s former media chief was suspended from the party over his links to a convicted sex offender.
Matthew Doyle, who stepped down as the No 10 head of communications last March, was suspended from the Labour whip in the House of Lords on Monday after it emerged that he had campaigned on behalf of Sean Morton who had been charged with possessing indecent images of children.
In a statement, Doyle, who served in Tony Blair’s No 10 and was given a peerage in December by Starmer, apologised for his past association with Morton and admitted “extremely limited” contact with him after his conviction.
Education minister Georgia Gould said on Wednesday morning that No 10 “did not know” about Doyle’s links to Morton before they made the decision to give him the peerage in December.
Here is a timeline of what happened, and why there are questions over what No 10 knew and when.
December 2016 – Sean Morton charged
Sean Morton, who was then a Labour councillor for the Fochabers Lhanbryde ward in Moray Council, was charged in December 2016 with possessing indecent images of children. The charge related to offences committed in 2013.
Morton was suspended from the Labour Party in January 2017, and later resigned from the party.
May 2017 – Doyle supports Morton in local elections
Morton stood in the local elections in May 2017 for Moray Council as an independent candidate, but was not reelected.
During that campaign, he received support from Matthew Doyle, who had previously been a special adviser to both Tony Blair and David Blunkett and led the press operations for Liz Kendall’s 2015 Labour leadership campaign.
The Sunday Times who first revealed concerns about Doyle’s links to Morton reported that Doyle had worn a T-shirt bearing a slogan encouraging voters to reelect him.
Pam Duncan-Glancy, who would go on to become a Labour MSP in Holyrood, is also reported to have supported Morton during his campaign.
November 2017 – Morton convicted
At a court appearance in Elgin in November 2017, Morton admitted to the possession of indecent images of children and watching footage of the sexual abuse of animals.
He was sentenced in February 2018 to a community payback order which included 140 hours of unpaid work within nine months. He was also given a three-year supervision order and placed on the sex offenders register.
June 2021 – Doyle joins Starmer’s top team
Starmer appointed Doyle as his director of communications on an interim basis in 2021 amid a shake-up of his team following the party’s damaging loss of the Hartlepool by-election.
Doyle eventually took on the post on a permanent basis, and became No 10’s director of communications when Labour won the election three years later.
Starmer appointed Doyle as his director of communications on an interim basis in 2021 (Photo: Peter Nicholls/Getty)January 2025 – Morton jailed
According to an investigation by the Daily Record, Morton was later convicted to further sexual offences and was sentenced to 16 months in prison for possessing indecent photographs of children and for breaching his sexual offences order.
The sentence was backdated to May 2024, and he was reportedly released in November 2025.
March 2025 – Doyle departs No 10
Just nine months after the general election, Doyle announced he was leaving his role in No 10.
In an email to Downing Street staff seen by The Guardian he said it was “time to pass the baton on” now that Labour was in government.
10 December 2025 – Nominated for a peerage
Starmer nominated Doyle for a life peerage at the end of 2025, and he joined the House of Lords as Baron Doyle of Great Barford in the County of Bedfordshire on 8 January 2026.
The peerage nomination was officially announced on 10 December 2025.
27 December 2025 – Links to Morton revealed
On 27 December 2025, The Sunday Times revealed that No 10 had nominated Doyle for a peerage after investigating his continued support for Morton.
The newspaper revealed that Doyle had campaigned for Morton in May 2017, including knocking on doors wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the slogan “Re-elect Sean Morton” and attending the election count.
The Sunday Times reported that an internal inquiry was launched after this link was brought to the attention of No 10. A spokesperson said “questions regarding Matthew Doyle’s past acquaintance with Sean Morton were thoroughly investigated, including through several interviews with Matthew Doyle, prior to his appointment [to the House of Lords].”
It also reported that, following the investigation, No 10 had decided Doyle’s connection with Morton did not prevent him from receiving a peerage.
Asked by the paper if he maintained contact with Morton after his conviction in December 2017, Doyle repeatedly declined to respond.
No 10’s account raises questions over why the internal inquiry did not uncover details of Doyle’s campaigning with Morton and why the decision was made to still hand him the peerage.
Some have also pointed out that the PM would have had the ability to withdraw the peerage before the letters patent was signed in early January, shortly before Doyle took up his seat in the Lords.
10 February 2026 – Suspended by Labour
After The i Paper approached No 10 and Doyle about concerns from MPs over his appointment to the Lords, he was suspended by Labour over his links to Morton.
In a statement, Doyle said: “At the point of my campaigning support, Morton repeatedly asserted to all those who knew him his innocence, including initially in court.”
He added: “To have not ceased support ahead of a judicial conclusion was a clear error of judgement for which I apologise unreservedly.
Duncan-Glancy, a Labour MSP for Glasgow, was also suspended from the party. She faced calls to stand down after it was revealed she had continued a friendship with Morton following his release from prison.
She announced she would not seek re-election in the May 2026 local elections.
11 February 2026 – Questions over what No 10 knew
In the wake of Doyle’s suspension, questions were raised about what No 10 knew about his relationship with Morton prior to his nomination for a peerage.
A minister claimed this morning that Downing Street was not aware Doyle had campaigned for a sex offender when his peerage was announced on 10 December.
Education minister Georgia Gould told Sky News: “No 10 did not know before they made the decision to give him the peerage.”
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However, questions have been raised by reports in The Sunday Times from 27 December which suggest that No 10 was aware of Doyle’s link Morton and had investigated the matter prior to decided to award him a peerage.
Challenged over this, Gould said: “I think the decision, the announcement was made on 10 December. I think the story was later in the month.
“But I think the Prime Minister has looked at this afresh, given the commitment that he has made to ensure the highest standards in public life.”
At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday Starmer suggested that Doyle “did not give a full account of his actions” when questioned.
A Government source said there was “no established precedent for withdrawing a peerage nomination after the announcement stage”.
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