Transport secretary Louise Haigh quits over criminal conviction

The transport secretary, Louise Haigh, has resigned after it emerged she was convicted for an offence involving a mobile phone in 2013.

Haigh was appointed as the new transport secretary in July, having held the shadow transport brief since 2021.

Prior to taking the shadow transport brief, she was shadow Northern Ireland secretary. The former special constable was also a shadow policing minister under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Sir Kier Starmer, the MP for Sheffield Heeley said: “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. 

“I will always be grateful for the support you have shown me, and I take great pride in what we achieved since the election.”  

The conviction related to when Haigh, aged 24, was mugged in London. She reported the incident to the police, giving them a list of her possessions that she believed had been stolen, including her work phone. 

She explained: “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.”

Haigh says she had been advised by a lawyer “not to comment” during a police interview. The police then referred the case to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

She pleaded guilty to making a false report to police at a magistrates' court six months before becoming an MP in the 2015 election, and received a discharge - the “lowest possible outcome”.

Haigh had declared her discharge on appointment to the shadow cabinet when the Labour Party was in opposition.

Haigh said in her resignation letter to Starmer: “I remain totally committed to our political project, but I now believe it will be best served by my supporting you from outside Government. 

“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.”