Transport Secretary Louise Haigh resigns after Sky News reveals mobile phone guilty plea | British news

On November 29, 2024By Pranco

Transport Minister Louise Haigh has resigned after it emerged she had pleaded guilty to an offense related to falsely telling police a work mobile phone had been stolen in 2013.

In a letter to the prime ministershe described the incident as a “mistake” but said that “whatever the facts are, this issue will inevitably be a distraction from delivering the work of this government”.

It comes next Sky News revealed details of the breach last nightwith Ms Haigh saying in a statement that she believed her phone had been stolen after she was “robbered on a night out”, but later discovered this was not the case.

She hinted that Sir Keir knew about this in her resignation letter, telling him: ‘As you know, I was robbed in London in 2013. As a 24-year-old woman, the experience was terrifying. the incident to the police.

“I gave the police a list of my belongings that I thought had been stolen, including my work phone.

“Some time later I discovered that the device in question was still in my house.

“I should have informed my employer immediately and it was a mistake if I did not do so immediately.”

Ms Haigh then said that while she is “fully committed to our political project”, she believes “it will be best served if I support you from outside government”.

Sheffield Heeley MP added: “I am sorry to have to leave in these circumstances, but I am proud of what we have done.

“I will continue to fight every day for the people of Sheffield Heeley, who I am meant to represent first and foremost, and to ensure the rest of our program is fully implemented.”

‘Questions’ for Starmer

In response to this Lord Keir Starmer thanked Ms Haigh for “all you have done to deliver this government’s ambitious transport agenda” and said: “I know you still have a huge contribution to make in the future.”

The letters were dated yesterday, November 28, but were only made public this morning.

A Conservative Party spokesman said Ms Haigh had “done the right thing by resigning”.

They said the incident “raises questions about why the Prime Minister has appointed Ms Haigh to a cabinet member responsible for a £30 billion budget”.

“It is now up to Keir Starmer to explain this apparent lack of judgment to the British public,” she added.

The clear reason for Louise Haigh’s quick resignation

Rob Powell

Political correspondent

@robpowellnieuws

Although government sources insist this dismissal was Louise Haigh’s decision, the political weather surrounding the now former transport secretary always made walking away from her job a possible outcome.

Ms Haigh was not only the first minister to resign, but also the first minister to be publicly reprimanded by Sir Keir Starmer.

That was in response to calls she made to boycott P&O ferries following the mass redundancies of hundreds of employees, comments which led to a £1 billion investment being temporarily put on hold.

The Sheffield MP, who comes from the Labor left, also has links to former Downing Street chief of staff Sue Gray.

But with a new team at the top of number ten, some had already speculated about its future in government.

However, the ultimate trigger for this dismissal is likely simpler.

In 2022, Sir Keir Starmer said of the partygate scandal: “You can’t be a legislator and a lawbreaker”.

This seems to show what that mantra looks like when transplanted into the reality of government.

Conviction just before the 2015 elections

Sky News has learned that Ms Haigh appeared at Camberwell Green Magistrates’ Court six months before the 2015 general election after making a false report to officers that her mobile phone had been stolen.

It is understood her conviction has now been classified as ‘exhausted’.

Three separate sources claimed to Sky News that she made the false report to gain personal advantage, with two of the sources claiming that she wanted a more modern business handset that was being rolled out to her colleagues at the time.

The outgoing minister worked as a public policy manager at Aviva, but two sources said the incident caused her to lose her job at the insurance company.

The crime was fully disclosed when Ms Haigh was appointed to Sir Keir’s shadow cabinet, Sky News understands.

‘Real mistake’

In her statement last night, Ms Haigh called the incident a “genuine mistake from which I have not gained any benefit”.

She said she “was given another work phone” in the interim between filing the police report and discovering it had not been stolen, and that she was called in for questioning when the original device turned on, which “did the attention of the police drew”.

“My attorney advised me not to comment during that interview and I regret following that advice,” she said.

“The police referred the matter to the CPS and I appeared before Southwark magistrates.”

Ms Haigh continued: “On the advice of my lawyer, I have pleaded guilty – despite the fact that this was a genuine mistake from which I gained no benefit.

“The magistrates accepted all these arguments and gave me the lowest possible outcome (a dismissal) available.”

Career at Met before politics

As transport secretary, Ms Haigh appointed members of the board who oversee the British Transport Police.

Before entering politics, the MP was a special constable in the Metropolitan Police. From 2009 to 2011, she served in the south London borough of Lambeth, near where she was convicted several years later.

She was appointed shadow police minister by Jeremy Corbyn in 2017 and made extensive use of her experience at the Met in challenging the Tory government over rising demands on officers.

Sir Keir promoted the MP to shadow Northern Ireland secretary in 2020, before moving her to shadow transport secretary in 2021.