British Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh on Friday resigned following revelations that she incorrectly reported a work mobile phone as stolen in 2013.
Her resignation, the first from Starmer’s top team of ministers since winning a landslide election victory in July, came after media reports that she had been convicted and given a conditional discharge in 2014 for what she described as a ‘mistake’.
Haigh said in a letter to Starmer dated Thursday, November 28, that she had told police she had lost a mobile phone during a ‘terrifying’ mugging on a night out in 2013, only to discover later that the phone was still at her home.
In her resignation letter, Haigh recounted the fear she experienced as a young woman in the immediate aftermath of the mugging and acknowledged her error in failing to promptly update the authorities and her employer.
She said “I remain totally committed to our political project, but I now believe it will be best served by my supporting you from outside government.”
Starmer thanked Haigh for her work and for all she had done “to deliver this government’s ambitious transport agenda”.
The opposition Conservative Party said Haigh had “done the right thing”.
Haigh’s resignation is yet another blow to the Labour leader, who has seen his party’s approval ratings plunge since July.
Haigh, who was first elected in 2015 and has held senior posts under both Starmer and left-wing former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, said the incident with the phone was a “genuine mistake” from which she “did not make any gain”.
