Keir Starmer flooring Kemi Badenoch with ‘prison conviction’ comeback at PMQs

Keir Starmer hit back at Kemi Badenoch for her attacks on ex-Transport Secretary Louise Haigh’s fraud conviction – by pointing out her predecessors were fined by police.

The new Tory leader asked Mr Starmer why he “knowingly appointed a convicted fraudster” to his Cabinet after it emerged last week that Ms Haigh had pleaded guilty to a fraud offence in 2014 over a mobile phone theft Ms Haigh said she had informed Mr Starmer about the incident when she was appointed to the shadow cabinet in 2020.

But she resigned on Friday after the PM withdrew his support, and was replaced as Transport Secretary by Heidi Alexander. No10 suggested new information had come to light but refused to say what it was.

Ms Badenoch said the county needs “conviction politicians not politicians with convictions”. But Mr Starmer hit back, saying: “I would remind her that two of her predecessors have convictions.” His comments appeared to refer to Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, who were both fined by police for attending a surprise birthday bash for Mr Johnson during lockdown in 2020. Fixed penalty notices don’t result in a criminal record.

Ms Haigh was convicted of fraud by false representation in 2014 after she wrongly told police her work phone had been snatched in a traumatic mugging in London in 2013. She said she gave officers a list of what had been stolen during the incident, which took place before she became an MP. The conviction is now spent.

The exchange began when Ms Badenoch challenged the PM over immigration. She said: “The Prime Minister talks about immigration, I think it’s probably a good time to remind him that he was the one writing letters asking us not to deport foreign criminals, and he and his party voted against every single measure that we put in place to try and limit immigration.

“But, the question today is what has been on the lips of all Labour MPs, including, I believe, the Health Secretary yesterday – the Prime Minister knowingly appointed a convicted fraudster to be his transport secretary. What was he thinking?”

The PM replied: “The previous transport secretary was right when further information came forward to resign – what a marked contrast from behaviour in the last 14 years.

“And she talks about immigration, record levels of immigration under the previous government, nearly a million – and she was the cheerleader, she was the one urging on the removal of the caps for work visas, she was thanking the previous home secretary for the work was done. She championed it. She advocated it. Record numbers of immigration.”

Ms Badenoch said he owed MPs an explanation on what the further information was. But Mr Starmer replied: “I’m not going to disclose private information. Further information came to light, the (Transport) Secretary resigned, as I say, what a marked contrast.

“Whilst she’s obsessing with the Westminster issues, we’re getting on with fixing the mess, fixing foundations, that £22 billion black hole, our prisons bursting. As we found out last week, nearly a million net migration numbers, because of the Tory open borders policy.”