2 min read
Louise Haigh has resigned as transport secretary after it emerged that she has a fraud conviction connected with misleading the police over a mobile phone.
In a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer published on Friday morning, Haigh said the incident 10 years ago was a “mistake” but “whatever the facts of the matter, this issue will inevitably be a distraction from delivering on the work of this government”.
She was replaced by Heidi Alexander, the Labour MP for Swindon South.
Alexander previously served as Sadiq Khan’s deputy mayor of London for transport.
It comes after Sky News reported that in 2014 Haigh was convicted for an offence related to misleading the police after being the victim of a mugging.
According to the report, she provided the police with a list of possessions that someone had stolen from her while she was on a night out in 2013. The list wrongly included her mobile phone, which she claimed she initially believed had been among the stolen items but later found in her house.
Haigh later pleaded guilty to misleading the police. “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,” Haigh told Sky News, which reported that it was understood the conviction was now spent.
“I am sorry to leave under these circumstances,” she said in a letter to Starmer.
“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.”
In a letter responding to Haigh, the Prime Minister 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.”
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
+ There are no comments
Add yours