Starmer Admits To Trying To Make His Ex-Spin Doctor An Ambassador

Keir Starmer has admitted to trying to make his former spin doctor Matthew Doyle an ambassador in prime minister’s questions.

It comes amid the ongoing fallout around the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US, despite the disgraced peer’s known links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Sacked Foreign Office chief, civil servant Olly Robbins, was fielding questions about how Mandelson failed security vetting – and still got the top job – on Tuesday. 

He also told MPs the prime minister wanted to give his director of communications a senior diplomatic job over the head of then-foreign secretary David Lammy. 

Robbins said he “felt quite uncomfortable” about the suggestion and “kept giving advice that I thought this would be very hard for the office and was hard for me personally to defend”.

Asked by Conservative MP Mike Wood if this was true, Starmer told the House of Commons: “Matthew Doyle worked for many years in public service, for me, as prime minister, and other ministers.

“When people leave roles in any organisation, there’s often conversations about other roles they want to apply for – but nothing came of this.”

Doyle , who was No.10′s comms chief until March 2025, was instead given a peerage by Starmer in January this year.

However, he was suspended from the Labour Party the following month over his links to a convicted paedophile.

Doyle released a statement shortly after Robbins’ appearance in front of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, claiming: “I have never sought any head of mission, ambassador or any equivalent leadership-type posting.

“I was never aware of anyone speaking to the FCDO about such a role for me.

“My desire after leaving No 10 was to stay in UK politics.”

Doyle campaigned for Sean Morton after he was charged with having indecent images of children.

Morton, a former Labour councillor, admitted to the charges six months later.

According to reports, senior No.10 officials were aware of Doyle’s links to Morton before Starmer nominated him for a life peerage in December 2025.

Doyle apologised for his past association with Morton in February, saying: “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.”

He added: “Those of us who took him at his word were clearly mistaken. I have never sought to dismiss or diminish the seriousness of the offences for which he was rightly convicted. They are clearly abhorrent and I have never questioned his conviction.”

Starmer’s admission over Doyle adds to growing concerns about his judgement following the appointment of Mandelson, which the PM has since admitted was a mistake.

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