The warning to the Prime Minister came as he tried to deflect from SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn’s question about Matthew Doyle, who was one of Starmer’s closest aides before resigning in March 2025.

Doyle was then handed a seat in the House of Lords in December 2025, despite a No 10 spokesperson acknowledging that they had known of his connection to convicted paedophile Sean Morton. Doyle had campaigned for Morton to be elected as an independent even after Labour suspended him due to the paedophilia charges.

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At PMQs, Starmer told MPs that Doyle had not given a “full account” of his links to Morton before he was given a life peerage.

Flynn then said: “If I’ve just listened to the Prime Minister correctly, he’s essentially rolled the same pitch in relation to Matthew Doyle as he did with Peter Mandelson, that they weren’t clear with him.

“He appears to be the most gullible former director of public prosecutions in history.

“But he has a slight problem, Mr Speaker, because some of us do read the newspapers, and towards the end of last year, indeed on December 30, having written to the House of Lords Appointments Commission, I received a 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?”

Starmer responded: “I’ve made my position clear, he knows how the system works.

“But Mr Speaker, 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.

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“And he’ll have read that the 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 were ignored.

“He should have been looking at those, not looking at the newspapers.”

The Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, then cut in. “I just remind the Prime Minister we don’t discuss live cases because of sub judice,” he said.

Peter Murrell, the former SNP chief executive and estranged husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, was charged with embezzlement in April 2024.

Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell (Image: PA)

He will appear at the High Court in Glasgow on February 20 for a preliminary hearing, where he will be expected to appear in person and enter a plea.

Previously, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) urged people to “think” before they spoke publicly about the criminal trial, warning members of the public they could face jail if they broke the rules.

The prosecution service said: “Those who comment publicly on live criminal cases risk being found in contempt of court.

“If the court makes a finding of contempt, penalties can include fines and imprisonment. The legal proceedings can also be prejudiced. Think before you post.”

Contempt of court is a crime and covers a broad range of actions which could be considered to prejudice or interfere with the course of justice in a trial.

MPs are protected by parliamentary privilege from contempt of court in the Commons, but by convention and House rules (the “sub judice” rule which Hoyle references) they are told to avoid discussing active cases to prevent prejudice and uphold fair trials.