A former top Foreign Office official has revealed that Downing Street secretly explored appointing Prime Minister Keir Starmer's then-communications chief, Lord Matthew Doyle, to a diplomatic position while instructing civil servants not to inform the foreign secretary.
Sir Olly Robbins, who was dismissed last week, told the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee that Number 10 was "interested in potential diplomatic options for Doyle" and held "several discussions" about finding him a head of mission role. He testified that he received "strict instruction not to discuss that with the then foreign secretary, which was uncomfortable."
"I found it very hard to think how I would explain to the office what the credentials of Matthew were to be in an important head of mission role when I was in danger of making very senior, very experienced diplomats leave the office," Sir Olly stated during his evidence session.
The revelation comes amid ongoing controversy surrounding Lord Doyle, who was suspended from the House of Lords in February over his past association with Sean Morton, a former Labour councillor convicted of indecent child image offences in 2017. Lord Doyle has apologized for the association but maintained his support for Morton's election campaign came when Morton was maintaining his innocence.
Current Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper expressed "extreme concern" at the suggestion that senior civil servants would be told to bypass the foreign secretary, adding that Lord Doyle "would not have been an appropriate appointment."
The disclosure has sparked sharp criticism from across the political spectrum. Emily Thornberry, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, condemned what she called "vanity projects" at the Foreign Office, while Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey described the revelations as "incredibly damning for Keir Starmer."
This controversy follows earlier questions about the Prime Minister's judgment regarding his appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as US ambassador, despite knowledge of Mandelson's friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Both appointments have raised concerns about a "culture of centralisation and patronage" within the government, according to Labour campaign group Mainstream.
Lord Doyle, a veteran Labour strategist who served as the party's head of press from 1998 to 2005 before working for senior Labour figures, resigned as Sir Keir's communications director in March 2025 and received his peerage last December. When questioned about Lord Doyle's past associations earlier this year, Sir Keir acknowledged that his aide "did not give a full account" of his links to Morton.