Badenoch urges PM to disclose vetting for ex-comms chief who campaigned for Scots sex offender
Mr Doyle reportedly campaigned for Morton when he ran as an independent in May 2017.
Kemi Badenoch has called on the Prime Minister to explain what steps were taken to examine his former communications chief’s ties to a convicted paedophile before making him a peer.
Sir Keir Starmer’s former No 10 director of communications Matthew Doyle took his seat in the House of Lords in January.
His nomination to the unelected chamber was opposed by the SNP at the time because of his connection to former Moray councillor Sean Morton, who admitted having indecent images of children in November 2017.
Mr Doyle reportedly campaigned for Morton when he ran as an independent in May 2017.
Labour had suspended Morton after he appeared in court in connection with indecent child images in late 2016.
Mr Doyle has said Morton was maintaining his innocence at the time he backed his campaign, and that he regrets supporting him.
Conservative Party leader Mrs Badenoch has written to Sir Keir calling on him to publish “vetting advice and due diligence” received ahead of Mr Doyle’s elevation to the Lords as well as any documents covering his association with Morton.
It comes as Sir Keir faces growing scrutiny of his appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US despite the Labour grandee’s ties to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
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Mrs Badenoch claimed that there was a “pattern of behaviour” of Sir Keir’s office overlooking vetting for men who have “associations with men who have a history of abusing children”.
She said she would use “parliamentary means to get to the truth” if the Prime Minister refused to be transparent about his decision to put Mr Doyle in the Lords.
A Downing Street 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.”
It is understood that No 10 was satisfied after its consideration that a past acquaintance did not represent a bar to Mr Doyle’s appointment.
Mr Doyle repeated a previous statement on the matter, saying: “Sean Morton was maintaining his innocence at this time.
“I regret supporting him. Sean Morton was someone I knew for a period through other shared acquaintances.
“I have not seen him for years.”
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