Sir Keir Starmer has failed to deny that his former spin doctor who campaigned for a convicted paedophile was considered for a top diplomatic job.
Sacked top Foreign Office official Sir Olly Robbins on Tuesday revealed that Lord Matthew Doyle had been considered for an ambassadorship, a disclosure Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said made her “extremely concerned”.
During a fiery Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Sir Keir faced scrutiny over the bombshell revelations.
Asked whether his former director of communications had been put forward for a job as a head of mission, Sir Keir said there were "often conversations about other roles" when staff leave "in any organisation".
He told MPs: "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 are often conversations about other roles they want to apply for, but nothing came of this."
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch accused Sir Keir of delivering "cronyism and an old boys' club".
"I am amazed at the level of chuntering from Labour MPs. He promised them probity," she told the Commons.
"What he's given them is cronyism and an old boys' club where Matthew Doyle is being proposed as an ambassador. It's ridiculous."
Lord Doyle, who was handed a peerage last year, had the Labour whip withdrawn in February after it emerged he had campaigned on behalf of a friend who was charged with possessing indecent images of children.
The peer apologised for backing then councillor Sean Morton before the case against him had concluded, saying he believed the paedophile's assertions of innocence before Morton later admitted the offending.
Sir Olly said the job proposal had come shortly after he took over leading the Foreign Office in January last year, at a time when top diplomats were at risk of losing their jobs as part of department restructuring.
The former senior civil servant said he was unsure "who exactly was behind" the suggestion or "how serious it was".
"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," he said.
Former US ambassador Lord Peter Mandelson was also asked about the prospect of a role in Washington for Lord Doyle, Sir Olly suggested.
The row over Lord Doyle in February heightened pressure on No 10 following the Mandelson scandal, which saw the former US ambassador quit Labour in the wake of new revelations about his association with Jeffrey Epstein.
Sir Keir faced questions in the Commons amid the ongoing fallout over the vetting process.
Sir Olly said there had been a "dismissive approach" on vetting from No 10 and an "atmosphere of pressure" to get Lord Mandelson's appointment as UK ambassador to the US over the line.
Sir Keir in insisted that the senior civil servant’s appearance before the Foreign Affairs Select Committee "puts to bed all the allegations" levelled at him over the appointment process for Lord Mandelson when Ms Badenoch asked whether he stood by his statement last year that full due process was followed.
Sir Keir replied: "Yes I do."
He added: "What I set out to the House on Monday is that Foreign Office officials granted security clearance to Mandelson against the recommendation of UK Security Vetting.
"Yesterday Sir Olly Robbins was asked if he shared that decision with me, Number 10 or any other ministers. He gave a clear answer. 'No'. Mr Speaker, that puts to bed all the allegations levelled at me by those opposite in relation to dishonesty.
"Last week they were all saying that it must have been shared with me. Sir Olly was very clear yesterday, it was not. I believe not sharing it was a serious error of judgment.
"That information should have been shared with me and other ministers, and if it had have been, Mandelson would not have been committed to post."
