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UK transport secretary Louise Haigh has resigned after admitting that she had pleaded guilty to a criminal offence over a missing mobile phone.
“Whatever the facts of the matter, this issue will inevitably be a distraction from delivering on the work of this government,” Haigh said in a letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir 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,” she said in the letter.
Haigh had earlier said she pleaded guilty a decade ago to a minor criminal offence relating to a mobile phone she wrongly claimed had been stolen.
Haigh, who is on the left of the Labour party, said in a statement on Thursday that she had told police she lost the device during a “terrifying” mugging on a night out in 2013 — only to discover later that it had not been taken after all.
The 37-year-old MP said that the inaccurate statement had been a “genuine mistake”.
Acknowledging Haigh’s decision to resign, Starmer said she had helped to deliver an ambitious transport agenda. “I know you still have a huge contribution to make in the future,” he said.
The resignation follows a bruising month for the Labour government following last month’s Budget, which has been criticised by businesses for the biggest tax increases in a generation.
Before being elected — and at the time of her offence — Haigh worked as a public policy manager for Aviva. She also volunteered as a special constable in the Metropolitan Special Constabulary from 2009 to 2011.
As transport secretary she was responsible for everything from High Speed 2 rail and the nationalisation of the railway system to policy on electric vehicles.
Haigh said she intended to remain as an MP. She has represented Sheffield Heeley since 2015.