Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has resigned in the wake of revelations that she pleaded guilty to an offence in 2014.
The senior Labour figure admitted fraud by false representation ten years ago after she wrongly said her work phone had been snatched during a “terrifying” incident in London in 2013. She said she reported the incident to the police and gave them a list of what she thought had been stolen, including a phone issued by her then employer, the insurance giant Aviva.
But later she discovered the work phone in her house and switched it on. Ms Haigh said she regretted remaining silent on the advice of a solicitor when police interviewed her after detecting the phone had been switched on.
In a letter send to Keir Starmer on Friday morning, Ms Haigh said she is “totally committed to our political project” but believes “it will be best served by my supporting you from outside Government” as this issue “will inevitably be a distraction”.
“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,” she wrote.
In the letter, Ms Haigh said she reported a mugging to the police in 2013 in which she provided a list of stolen items. Among them was a work phone she later discovered at home, and she failed to notify officers that she had found the device.
She wrote to the PM: “As you know, in 2013 I was mugged in London. As a 24-year-old woman, the experience was terrifying. In the immediate aftermath, I reported the incident to the police.
“I gave the police a list of my possessions that I believed had been stolen, including my work phone. Some time later, I discovered that the handset in question was still in my house. I should have immediately informed my employer and not doing so straight away was a mistake.
“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.”
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In a reply, Mr Starmer wrote: “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 £1 billion in our vital bus services and lowering cost for motorists. I know you still have a huge contribution to make in the future.”
It is understood that she informed Mr Starmer about the conviction – which is now spent – on being appointed to the Shadow Cabinet in 2020. Ms Haigh was elected as MP for Sheffield Heeley in 2015, and had previously worked at Aviva as a public policy manager.
Ms Haigh was appointed Transport Secretary on July 5 2024 after Labour’s general election win, becoming the youngest female Cabinet minister to ever be appointed. In October, Ms Haigh said that she had boycotted P&O Ferries and encouraged others to do so, after the firm sacked hundreds of workers in 2022 and replaced them with lower-paid agency staff.
The Prime Minister publicly criticised the comments, saying they were “not the view of the Government”. Her comments caused a huge row, with reports swirling that a £1billion investment in the UK by DP World, the parent company of P&O Ferries, was in jeopardy.
During the election campaign, Ms Haigh pledged to bring train services on Britain’s railways into public ownership. A day before her resignation, flagship Government plans to renationalise rail passenger services became law.
The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill received royal assent and will enable the Government to take over services from private firms as their franchises expire or are broken. Ms Haigh said it marked “a historic moment for our railways”.
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