Louise Haigh resigns as Transport Secretary after admitting she was convicted for deceptive police a few stolen cell phone

Louise Haigh has resigned as Transport Secretary after it emerged she pleaded guilty to a criminal offence related to incorrectly telling police that a work mobile phone was stolen in 2013. 

It is understood she disclosed her conviction ‘in full’ to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer when she was appointed to his Shadow Cabinet in 2020 – four years ago. 

Haigh, 37, reportedly admitted an offence in 2014 following the incident. She had reported to police the device was stolen when she was ‘mugged’ in 2013.

In a statement, Haigh has said she discovered ‘some time later’ that the phone had not been taken.

She said the matter was a ‘genuine mistake’ from which she ‘did not make any gain’, and that magistrates gave her the ‘lowest possible outcome’.

The Transport Secretary said in her statement: ‘In 2013 I was mugged while on a night out. I was a young woman and the experience was terrifying.

‘I reported it to the police and gave them a list of what I believed had been taken – including a work mobile phone that had been issued by my employer.

‘Some time later I discovered that the mobile in question had not been taken. In the interim I had been issued with another work phone.

‘The original work device being switched on triggered police attention and I was asked to come in for questioning. My solicitor advised me not to comment during that interview and I regret following that advice. 

‘The police referred the matter to the CPS and I appeared before Southwark magistrates. Under the advice of my solicitor I pleaded guilty – despite the fact this was a genuine mistake from which I did not make any gain.

‘The magistrates accepted all of these arguments and gave me the lowest possible outcome (a discharge) available.’

Haigh has been Sheffield Heeley MP since 2015 and held a number of shadow ministerial and shadow cabinet roles before becoming Transport Secretary when Labour won the election in July. Before she entered politics she spent time as a special constable.

It is understood that it was a fraud offence and the incident was disclosed in full to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer when she joined the shadow cabinet. The conviction is now spent.

In a letter to Sir Keir Starmer she said: ‘I appreciate that whatever the facts of the matter, this issue will inevitably be a distraction from delivering on the work of this government and the policies to which we are both committed.

‘I will always be grateful for the support you have shown me, and I take great pride in what we achieved since the election.’

She added: ‘I remain totally committed to our political project, but I now believe it will be best served by my supporting you from outside Government.

‘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.’ 

Accepting her resignation, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: ‘I know you still have a huge contribution to make in the future.’

He added: ‘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 £1billion in our vitalk bus services and lowering cost[s] for motorists. ‘

The former special constable and shadow police minister pleaded guilty to fraud by misrepresentation in 2014 after an internal investigation by her then-employer, insurance giant Aviva.

Haigh was a parliamentary candidate at the time of the incident but was working at Aviva as a public policy manager. It was reported she subsequently lost her job. 

She is seen as a senior figure from the left of the party, who has led work on renationalising the railways since the general election win in July.

But she had already courted controversy by agreeing to pay striking London Underground drivers a 14.25 per cent no-strings pay rise in order to end industrial action crippling the capital.

She has also pushed to increase state funding for bus services, and has supported the push towards electric cars replacing petrol and diesel vehicles.

Haigh was also seen as a Cabinet supporter of Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner’s push to increase workers’ rights, which critics say will cost jobs and lead to more strikes.

A Conservative Party spokesman said: ‘Louise Haigh has done the right thing in resigning. It is clear she has failed to behave to the standards expected of an MP.

‘In her resignation letter, she states that Keir Starmer was already aware of the fraud conviction, which raises questions as to why the Prime Minister appointed Ms Haigh to Cabinet with responsibility for a £30bn budget? The onus is now on Keir Starmer to explain this obvious failure of judgement to the British public.’

The chair of the Conservative Party said the Prime Minister has ‘serious questions’ to answer about the matter.

Nigel Huddleston said in a statement: ‘These are extremely concerning revelations about the person responsible for managing £30billion of taxpayers’ money.

‘Keir Starmer has serious questions to answer regarding what he knew and when about the person he appointed as Transport Secretary admitting to having misled the police.’

This is a breaking news story. More to follow.