Louise Haigh has resigned as transport secretary after admitting pleading guilty to a criminal offence tied to her incorrectly telling police that a work mobile phone was stolen in 2013.
She said in a letter to prime minister Keir Starmer on Friday morning that the incident was a “mistake”, but “whatever the facts of the matter, this issue will inevitably be a distraction from delivering on the work of this government”.
Haigh added that while she was “totally committed to our political project”, it would be “best served by my supporting you from outside government”.
The resignation comes a day after Haigh admitted to making a false report to police officers that her phone had been stolen in 2013.
In 2014, six months before becoming an MP, she was convicted by Camberwell Green magistrates and given a conditional discharge after pleading guilty to the offence.
Haigh, once a special constable in the Metropolitan Police and shadow policing minister under Jeremy Corbyn, told Sky News that she was “mugged while on a night out” in 2013 and included her work phone in a list she gave to police detailing items she believed were stolen.
She said that police called her in for questioning after she later found that the phone had not in fact been stolen.
After Sky’s report, Haigh said the shadow cabinet was informed of the conviction when she became a frontbencher. The conviction is now classified as “spent”, it is understood.
Haigh said her appointment as the UK’s “youngest ever” female Cabinet member “remains one of the proudest achievements of my life”.
“I am sorry to leave under these circumstances, but I take pride in what we have done,” she added.
Starmer thanked Haigh for her work in delivering the government’s transport agenda. “I know you still have a huge contribution to make in the future,” he added.
Last month, the prime minister distanced himself from comments made by Haigh about DP World, which owns P&O Ferries, after the Dubai-based firm threatened to cancel a £1bn investment into London Gateway port.
Haigh had called P&O a “rogue operator” after the firm controversially sacked 800 workers in 2022. DP World later went ahead with the investment after talks with the government.