Tory peer Mark Harper was in the Lords last night to blast No10’s decision to go ahead with Matthew Doyle’s peerage. Although he’s had the Labour whip withdrawn over his links to a sex offender (which were known before his peerage was confirmed) he is still in the Lords…
Asked whether Doyle should be removed from the House, Leader of the House of Lords Baroness Smith claimed she didn’t know enough to decide:
“I think in all of these things there needs to be a proper process. There is an issue I think about party due diligence on issues of members being nominated from all parties. So we all have to ensure we have the right processes in place. He was approved on the information available at that time. He has now no longer has the Labour whip and there will be an investigation. I don’t really want to get into speculating and I don’t know enough about the details of whether an individual should have the peerage removed.”
The ‘details’ have been pretty clear well before Doyle was approved. A pattern starting to emerge here…
Speaking about Morgan McSweeney’s resignation, skills minister Jacqui Smith told Times Radio:
“It’s clearly not ideal but I do understand why Morgan, as he explained, decided to resign at this point. But the important thing as you say is how we both tackle what this Epstein and Mandelson scandal has identified and also how we make sure, as the prime minister is absolutely determined to, that we continue the change that the country needs and that’s what I’m focusing on this morning.”