UK PM Starmer's appointing new Transport Secretary sparks controversy

Cabinet minister Pat McFadden has convinced that Sir Keir Starmer is not a hypocrite for appointing Louise Haigh to his frontbench.

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, appearing on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, was presented with a past clip of the now-Prime Minister telling Boris Johnson that you “cannot be a lawmaker and a lawbreaker” following the partygate scandal.

McFadden earlier told Sky News that he did not “know who knew what when” after being asked if the Prime Minister knew the full story of Haigh’s decade-old fraud criminal conviction when appointed Transport Secretary.

Asked if Starmer was a hypocrite, McFadden said: “No, he’s not. I think he’s appointed a good Cabinet. It’s a more united cabinet than I’ve seen in many years, and we’re working together on this plan for change that we’re going to publish this week which will set out our priorities.”