Transport secretary Louise Haigh has resigned after it emerged she had incorrectly told police that a work mobile phone was stolen in 2013.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, she said she is “totally committed to our political project” but believes “it will be best served by my supporting you from outside Government”.
Sky News and the Times newspaper reported on Thursday that in 2014 she pleaded guilty to an offence after she was “mugged” the year prior.
She had initially reported to police that her work phone device had been stolen, but claims she discovered “some time later” that the device had not been taken and that she had made a “genuine mistake”, from which she “did not make any gain”.
“The original work device being switched on triggered police attention and I was asked to come in for questioning. My solicitor advised me not to comment during that interview and I regret following that advice.”
Haigh said police referred the matter to the Crown Prosecution Service and her solicitor advised her to plead guilty, “despite the fact this was a genuine mistake” from which she said she “did not make any gain”.
She added that magistrates gave her the “lowest possible outcome”.
Haigh has been Sheffield Heeley MP since 2015, and held a number of shadow ministerial and shadow cabinet roles before becoming transport secretary when Labour won the general election in July.
It is understood that it was a fraud offence and the incident was disclosed in full to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer when she joined the shadow cabinet. The conviction is now spent.
In a letter to Sir Keir Starmer on Friday she 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.”
She added: “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.”
In a reply, the Prime Minister 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 £1bn in our vital bus services and lowering cost for motorists.
“I know you still have a huge contribution to make in the future.”
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