So why DID Keir Starmer put a convicted fraudster in his high workforce? Questions for the PM as Louise Haigh quits as Transport Secretary and divulges she informed him about 2014 courtroom look 4 YEARS in the past

Sir Keir Starmer is facing mounting pressure to explain why he allowed a convicted fraudster to be part of his top team for more than four years, after Louise Haigh quit as Transport Secretary. 

The 37-year-old became the first ministerial casualty of Keir Starmer‘s government after it emerged she appeared in court for wrongly claiming her mobile phone had been stolen in a mugging.

But it was also claimed that the Sheffield Heeley MP – a former special constable and shadow policing minister – revealed her spent conviction when she joined Sir Keir’s team four years ago.

Ms Haigh, who is seen as a leading member of Labour‘s ‘soft left’, was one of the longest-serving members of the shadow and full cabinet, having been appointed interim shadow Northern Ireland secretary in 2020 and shadow transport secretary the following year.

She was working for insurance giant Aviva when she was convicted, and became an MP the following year.  

A Conservative Party spokesman said this ‘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,’ they added.

Ms Haigh stepped down early this morning after admitting she appeared in court in 2014 – before she was an MP – after claiming she had her mobile phone stolen in a mugging. 

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

She said the matter was a ‘genuine mistake’ from which she ‘did not make any gain’. She pleaded guilty to fraud by misrepresentation after a probe by her then employer, insurance giant Aviva, and magistrates gave her the ‘lowest possible outcome’.

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. 

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. 

Last month she was rebuked by the PM after criticising P&O ferries as a ‘rogue operator’ for its decision to sack all its staff and replace them with cheaper agency staff.  

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. 

Born in 1987 in Sheffield, she studied politics at Nottingham University and law at Birkbeck, University of London.

She worked as a shop steward for the union Unite and as a Metropolitan Police special in London’s Lambeth borough before entering politics.

She has said she drew on her experience as a special constable when she was shadow policing minister from 2017.

She resigned this morning, telling the Prime Minister she was ‘sorry to leave under these circumstances’ but took ‘pride in what we have done’.

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

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 Sir Keir when she joined the shadow cabinet. The conviction is now spent.

In a letter to Sir Keir 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.’ 

Starmer replied: ‘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 chairman of the Conservative Party last night 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.’