Louise Haigh took a photograph of her supposedly stolen telephone to undergo police AFTER the date of the alleged theft, officers imagine
Former transport secretary Louise Haigh took a photo of her supposedly stolen mobile phone to submit to police after the date of the alleged theft, officers believe.
Police have suggested metadata attached to the photo shows that it was taken after the reported crime.
Ms Haigh claimed the phone was stolen when she was mugged but admitted to finding it later.
The Sheffield Heeley MP resigned from the cabinet on Friday morning after details of her 2014 conviction, which she got after pleading guilty to making a false report, emerged.
The saga has led to questions for the Prime Minister on how much he knew of the conviction – especially as he made a point of highlighting misconduct from the previous Conservative government, saying in opposition that one ‘cannot be a lawmaker and a lawbreaker’.
Nigel Huddleston, co-chairman of the Conservative Party, said the Prime Minister needed to address what he knew about Ms Haigh’s conviction directly, adding: ‘Keir Starmer appointed Louise Haigh to Cabinet to run a £30billion budget, despite knowing she had a fraud conviction.
‘Pat McFadden was unable to answer what Starmer knew and when. This serious question needs to be answered and it’s time for Keir Starmer to come clean.’
But last night, Chairman of the Duchy of Lancaster Mr McFadden defended Sir Keir’s appointment of Ms Haigh to the frontbench.
Police believe former Transport Secretary Louise Haigh took a photo of her phone to submit after it was supposedly stolen
Ms Haigh, pictured with Sir Keir Starmer in 2021, resigned from the cabinet on Friday morning after details of her 2014 conviction, which she got after pleading guilty to making a false report, emerged
Starmer (pictured with Haigh on April 25) said in his acceptance of her resignation: ‘Thank you for all you have done to deliver this Government’s ambitious transport agenda’
He told the BBC: ‘It’s not the case that anyone who’s ever broken the law ever can’t serve in Parliament. I’m sure if you looked around Parliament, you’d find more than one. I don’t know everybody’s background.’
He also praised Sir Keir for the ‘speed’ at which the issue was dealt with, telling GB News: ‘She said in her resignation letter she didn’t want this to go on and be a long, drawn-out saga.
‘And I think that’s quite a contrast between the way this was dealt with and the way some of these things have been dealt with in the past, where they have dragged out.
‘They have become a big distraction. It shows that he [Sir Keir] wants to act on these things when they come to light.’
Ms Haigh, who was replaced by Heidi Alexander shortly after resigning on Friday, said she stepped down partly because ‘this issue will inevitably be a distraction from delivering the work of this government’.
The timing of the leak has also raised questions about whether it was planned in advance to oust the ex-transport secretary, who was seen as one of the more Left-wing figures in the Cabinet.
Sources in Labour believe former adviser Sam White, who worked alongside Ms Haigh at Aviva, was the source of the leak, according to the Sunday Times. He has denied this.
Pictured: Ms Haigh’s resignation letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer
Starmer accepted her resignation, thanking Haigh for all she had done and saying ‘I know you still have a huge contribution to make in the future’
And some trade union figures have suggested Sir Keir’s all-powerful Chief of Staff, Morgan McSweeney, is responsible for her downfall.
Last night, veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott accused Sir Keir of throwing Ms Haigh ‘under the bus’, adding: ‘He knew that she had this problem with her claim for her mobile phone.
‘He knew it from the beginning, and now to throw her under the bus like this, I don’t get it. She was one of our more effective Cabinet ministers.’
Ms Haigh did not respond to a request for comment last night.
