Female Labour MPs reacted with fury after disgraced peer and No. 10 spin doctor Matthew Doyle was spotted attending the House of Lords yesterday.
Lord Doyle could be seen sitting on the back row of the red benches on Monday, the day Westminster was once again enveloped by the Lord Mandelson scandal.
Sir Keir’s former spin doctor appeared multiple times in the Mandelson Files published that day, including one conversation with the former ambassador in which he appeared to plan on misleading a journalist.
Yesterday Mr Doyle broke his silence following the publication of the files, telling the Daily Mail: ‘Mandelson’s appointment should never have happened and I regret the message it sent to Epstein’s victims and beyond.
‘It was clearly wrong and I apologise for any part I played in that process.’
Doyle was suspended by the Labour Party in February, just a month after entering the House of Lords, following a row over his own links to a convicted paedophile.
His suspension coincided with Lord Mandelson’s sacking as US ambassador, and saw Kemi Badenoch accuse the Prime Minister of ‘stuffing government with hypocrites and paedophile apologists’.
Lord Doyle’s very rare appearance in the Lords yesterday will have netted him £371 in taxpayer-funded attendance allowance.
Matthew Doyle had the whip suspended one month after entering the Lords over a relationship with a convicted paedophile
Lord Doyle could be seen sitting on the back row of the Lords, sparking surprise from onlookers
His decision to sit in the Lords on Monday sparked fury among female parliamentarians, with one MP raising it at that evening’s meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party.
Milton Keynes MP Emily Darlington challenged top minister Darren Jones, asking: ‘We all want to see the end of the Mandelson affair.
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‘We are all tired of it coming up on the doorstep as a smear.
‘But how is it going to go away when Matthew Doyle chose today of all days to go to the House of Lords and sit on the Labour benches?’
Speaking to the Mail, another Labour MP branded Mr Doyle’s appearance as showing ‘absolute brass neck!’
They also claimed Sir Keir’s ex communications chief ‘has been emailing stakeholders’ since his scandal saw him booted out of the party.
And the chairman of the Conservative Party, Kevin Hollinrake, fumed: ‘It is beyond belief that, on the very day his cosy WhatsApp messages with Peter Mandelson were published, Matthew Doyle appeared in the House of Lords for the first time.
‘Matthew Doyle should not be in the House of Lords in the first place, given his close personal relationship with convicted child sex offender Sean Morton.
‘The Government need to stop dragging their feet and bring forward legislation to remove disgraced peers from the House of Lords, and it should start with Mandelson and Doyle.’
The Removal of Peerages Bill was announced in the King’s Speech last month, but immediately faced criticism as the government could not say when the law will come into force, and when peers like Lord Mandelson and Lord Doyle will lose their honours.
Under current rules, to remove a peerage, the government must bring in bespoke legislation for each person it wants to remove.
And while Peers can be removed from the Lords for a number of reasons, including non-attendance, they continue to hold the title of Baron or Baroness.
Lord Doyle said he apologised for ‘any part he played in the process’ of Lord Mandelson’s appointment as Washington Ambassador
MP Emily Sheffield blasted Doyle’s appearance at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party last night
Last month, the government said it is ‘unacceptable’ that disgraced peers ‘are able to retain their peerages, regardless of circumstances’.
But a government source also warned they would ‘not be surprised’ if some members of the Lords try delaying the Bill with amendments, despite the risk of being branded ‘nonce apologists’.
Critics of the Bill say they fear the changes could allow a government to remove political opponents in the House of Lords on more spurious grounds.
The Government first pledged to bring in the changes in February, with Sir Keir Starmer revealing he had instructed his team to draft the legislation.
It was pledged again days later following Lord Doyle losing the whip over a friendship with Scottish politician Sean Morton, who was charged with possessing indecent images of children.
Lord Doyle campaigned for Mr Morton after he had been charged.
While Doyle did not comment directly on his decision to attend the House of Lords on Monday, he has previously offered an apology for his ‘past association with Sean Morton’.
‘His offences were vile and I completely condemn the actions for which he was rightly convicted. My thoughts are with the victims and all those impacted by these crimes.
‘At the point of my campaigning support, Morton repeatedly asserted to all those who knew him his innocence, including initially in court. He later changed his plea in court to guilty. To have not ceased support ahead of a judicial conclusion was a clear error of judgment for which I apologise unreservedly.’
