Matthew Doyle appointed as interim director of communications

Matthew Doyle, a former press spokesman and adviser to Tony Blair, has been appointed as Keir Starmer’s interim director of communications after it was confirmed that Ben Nunn was resigning from the post in the Labour leader’s office.

Doyle was a Labour staffer from 1998 to 2005, when he was head of press and broadcasting, then taskforce leader for Labour’s 2005 general election campaign. He was employed by the party again as TV debates media director for Gordon Brown in the 2010 election.

He was a special adviser to Blair as Prime Minister from 2005 to 2007, then to David Blunkett as Work and Pensions Secretary in 2005. He was later political director of Blair’s office once he left Downing Street, from 2007 to 2012.

Doyle has most recently worked as a consultant and as director of communications for Europe in the International Rescue Committee, the global humanitarian aid organisation headed by former Labour Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

He also worked on Liz Kendall’s unsuccessful 2015 leadership campaign, as did Starmer’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, whose role will be changing from day-to-day duties to election planning.

The appointment was first revealed by The Mirror‘s Pippa Crerar, who reported that Labour would advertise for the permanent role of communications director in due course.

Labour sources supportive of Starmer’s leadership and those on the right of the party have warmly welcomed the hire. LabourList understands Doyle will take up the role from July 5th.