Kemi Badenoch has challenged Sir Keir Starmer to assess his ex-communications chief's ties to a convicted paedophile before making him a peer.

The Prime Minister's former No 10 director of communications, Matthew Doyle, took his seat in the House of Lords in January.

His nomination to the unelected chamber was opposed by the SNP at the time because of his connection to former Labour councillor Sean Morton, who admitted having indecent images of children.

Lord Doyle, a Labour veteran who worked closely with former prime minister Tony Blair, reportedly campaigned for Morton when he ran as an independent in May 2017.

Labour had suspended him after he appeared in court in connection with indecent child images in late 2016.

Conservative Party leader Mrs Badenoch has written to Sir Keir calling on him to publish "vetting advice and due diligence" received ahead of Mr Doyle's elevation to the Lords as well as any documents covering his association with Morton.

It comes as Sir Keir faces growing scrutiny of his appointment of Lord Mandelson as ambassador to the US despite the Labour grandee's ties to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Mrs Badenoch claimed that there was a "pattern of behaviour" of Sir Keir's office overlooking vetting for men who have "associations with men who have a history of abusing children".

She said she would use "parliamentary means to get to the truth" if the Prime Minister refused to be transparent about his decision to ennoble Lord Doyle.

The nomination of Lord Doyle to the unelected chamber was opposed by the SNP and branded "wholly indefensible" because of his connection to Morton.