PMQs: Row over peerage for man who campaigned for paedophile

Mr Murrell, the former SNP chief executive who is Nicola Sturgeon’s estranged husband, is due to appear at the High Court in Glasgow for a preliminary hearing on February 20.

The 60-year-old was first arrested in April 2023 as part of the police investigation into the SNP’s finances. He appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in March 2025, where he faced a charge of embezzlement and made no plea.

Peter Murrell is due to appear in Glasgow High Court on March 19 (Image: Andy Buchanan/PA Wire)

Sir Keir’s intervention came after the SNP’s Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, pressed him over his decision to award a peerage to Lord Doyle, his former communications chief.

On Tuesday, Labour stripped Lord Doyle of the whip over his relationship with former Moray councillor Sean Morton, who was later convicted of possessing indecent images of children.

No 10 has insisted it was not aware that Lord Doyle had campaigned for Morton in the 2017 council elections at the time of his appointment.

However, The Sunday Times reported on December 27 — days before Lord Doyle was ennobled — that the two men were friends.

The paper also reported that Scottish Labour’s general secretary, Kate Watson, warned Sir Keir’s then chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, about the connection at a party event in Glasgow on December 4.

Morton was suspended by Labour after appearing in court in December 2016 and he later admitted crimes including possession of several pictures of naked girls as young as ten.

Mr Flynn said Sir Keir “rolled the same pitch in relation to Matthew Doyle, as he did with Peter Mandelson, that they were not clear with him”.

He added: “He appears to be the most gullible former director of public prosecutions in history, but he has a slight problem, because some of us do read the newspapers.”

Mr Flynn told the Commons he had written to the House of Lords Appointments Commission on December 30 and received a response from its chair.

“Towards the end of last year, on 30 December, having written to the House of Lords Appointments Commission, I received the response from the Chair, who advised me that, as part of their vetting, they provide confidential advice to the Prime Minister on the propriety of a potential nominee.

“Will he release that advice?”

“He appears to be the most gullible former DPP in history.”
The SNP's Stephen Flynn presses Keir Starmer on Matthew Doyle, Peter Mandelson and whether the PM will release the Lords vetting advice #PMQs https://t.co/tKvl740neE pic.twitter.com/1sxbtdVpnB

— Andrew Learmonth (@andrewlearmonth) February 11, 2026

The Prime Minister did not directly answer the question.

He said: “I have made my position clear. He knows how the system works, but he says he reads the newspapers.

“He will have read that, in nine days, their former party chief executive goes on trial for embezzling money.

“And he will have read that at Queen Elizabeth Hospital we see one of the worst failures in Scottish public life. Vulnerable children and adults put at risk. Evidence of serious warnings to the SNP Government was ignored.

“He should have been looking at those, not looking at the newspapers. The First Minister should act, because families deserve accountability.”

The Speaker replied: “Can I just remind the Prime Minister that we do not discuss live cases because of sub judice.”

Earlier, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch accused Sir Keir of “stuffing [his] government with hypocrites and paedophile apologists”.

“He cannot build a team,” she said. “He has no plan. He cannot even run his own office, let alone the country. He is now dealing with a new scandal of appointing someone who campaigned for a man convicted of having indecent pictures of girls as young as 10. Is not the Prime Minister ashamed that that will be his legacy?”

The Prime Minister said Lord Doyle “did not give a full account of his actions” and that his legacy would be “changing my party and winning a general election”.