Louise Haigh has resigned from Keir Starmer’s cabinet after admitting to a criminal conviction for wrongly reporting her work mobile phone stolen in 2013.
In a letter to the prime minister published on Friday morning, Haigh said she is “totally committed to our political project” but believes “it will be best served by my supporting you from outside government”.
The 37-year-old wrote: “I am sorry to leave under these circumstances, but I take pride in what we have done. I will continue to fight every day for the people of Sheffield Heeley who I was first and foremost elected to represent and to ensure that the rest of our programme is delivered in full.”
On Thursday, Haigh admitted she wrongly reported her work phone stolen following a mugging in 2013, after reports emerged about the incident.
The incident took place when Haigh was on a night out while working for the insurer Aviva in her 20s. When she gave police a list of items she believed were missing from her handbag, she included her work phone, which she did believe had been stolen.
She was given a new phone, but when she later found the old work phone and turned it on, the police called her in for questioning.
Haigh said it had been a “genuine mistake”, but had been advised by her lawyer “not to comment” during the police interview. The case was then referred to the Crown Prosecution Service.
She later pleaded guilty at Camberwell Green magistrate’s to making a false report to police and was given a conditional discharge. This is a type of sentence given to someone who is guilty of an offence but where the court decides not to impose a significant punishment.
The conviction has now been spent so is no longer on her record.
The MP disclosed the conviction to Starmer when she was appointed to the shadow cabinet, with sources saying the Labour leader was supportive of her.
Responding to her resignation, Starmer said: “Thank you for all you have done to deliver this government’s ambitious transport agenda.
“You have made huge strides to take our rail system back into public ownership through the creation of Great British Railways, investing £1bn in our vital bus services and lowering cost for motorists.
“I know you still have a huge contribution to make in the future.”
Haigh has been the MP for Sheffield Heeley since 2015. When she was appointed transport secretary this summer following Labour’s general election win, Haigh became the youngest ever female cabinet member.
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