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Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has resigned after it emerged she pleaded guilty to an offence related to incorrectly telling police that a work mobile phone was stolen in 2013.

In a letter to the prime minister, she described the incident as a “mistake” but said that “whatever the facts of the matter, this issue will inevitably be a distraction from delivering on the work of this government”.

It comes after Sky News revealed details of the offence last night, with Ms Haigh saying in a statement she believed her phone had been stolen after she was “mugged on a night out” but later discovered this was not the case.

She alluded to Sir Keir knowing about this in her resignation letter, telling him: “As you know, in 2013 I was mugged in London. As a 24-year-old woman, the experience was terrifying. In the immediate aftermath, I reported the incident to the police.

“I gave the police a list of my possessions that I believed had been stolen, including my work phone.

“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.”

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Ms Haigh then said that while she is “totally committed to our political project,” she believes “it will be best served by my supporting you from outside government”.

The MP for Sheffield Heeley added: “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.”

‘Questions’ for Starmer

In response, Sir Keir Starmer thanked Ms Haigh for “all you have done to deliver this government’s ambitious transport agenda” and said: “I know you still have a huge contribution to make in the future.”

The letters were dated yesterday, 28th November, but only made public this morning.

A Conservative Party spokesman said Ms Haigh has “done the right thing in resigning”.

They said the incident “raises questions as to why the prime minister appointed Ms Haigh to Cabinet with responsibility for a £30bn budget”.

“The onus is now on Keir Starmer to explain this obvious failure of judgement to the British public,” they added.

The straightforward reason for Louise Haigh’s rapid resignation


Rob Powell Political reporter

Rob Powell

Political correspondent

@robpowellnews

While government sources insist this resignation was Louise Haigh’s decision, the political weather around the now former transport secretary always made walking from her job a potential outcome.

As well as being the first cabinet minister to resign, Ms Haigh was also the first cabinet minister to be publicly rebuked by Sir Keir Starmer.

That was over calls she made to boycott P&O ferries after the mass sacking of hundreds of workers, comments that led to a £1bn investment being temporarily shelved.

Hailing from the left of Labour, the Sheffield MP also has connections with former Downing Street chief of staff Sue Gray.

But with a new team now in place at the top of Number 10 – some had already been speculating about her future in government.

The ultimate trigger for this resignation is likely more straightforward though.

In 2022, speaking about the partygate scandal, Sir Keir Starmer said “you can’t be a lawmaker and a lawbreaker”.

This appears to show what that mantra looks like when transplanted into the realities of government.

Conviction just before 2015 election

Sky News understands Ms Haigh appeared at Camberwell Green Magistrates’ Court six months before the 2015 general election, after making a false report to officers that her mobile phone had been stolen.

It’s understood her conviction is now classified as ‘spent’.

Three separate sources claimed to Sky News that she made the false report to benefit personally, with two of the sources alleging she wanted a more modern work handset that was being rolled out to her colleagues at the time.

The outgoing cabinet minister had been working as a public policy manager at Aviva, but two sources said she lost her job at the insurance firm because of the incident.

The offence was disclosed in full when Ms Haigh was appointed to Sir Keir’s shadow cabinet, Sky News understands.

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Minister admits offence over ‘stolen’ phone

‘Genuine mistake’

In her statement last night, Ms Haigh called the incident a “genuine mistake from which I did not make any gain”.

She said she had been “issued with another work phone” in the interim between making the police report and discovering it had not been stolen, and was called in for questioning when the original device was switched on, which “triggered police attention”.

“My solicitor advised me not to comment during that interview and I regret following that advice,” she said.

“The police referred the matter to the CPS and I appeared before Southwark magistrates.”

Ms Haigh continued: “Under the advice of my solicitor I pleaded guilty – despite the fact this was a genuine mistake from which I did not make any gain.

“The magistrates accepted all of these arguments and gave me the lowest possible outcome (a discharge) available.”

Pic: Louise Haigh was a special constable from 2009-2011
Image:
Pic: Louise Haigh was a special constable from 2009-2011

Career in Met before politics

As transport secretary, Ms Haigh appointed members of the board that oversees the British Transport Police.

Before entering politics, the MP was a special constable in the Metropolitan Police – serving between 2009 and 2011 in the South London Borough of Lambeth, close to where she was convicted several years later.

She was appointed shadow policing minister by Jeremy Corbyn in 2017 and frequently drew on her experience in the Met when challenging the Tory government on the rising demands on officers.

Sir Keir promoted the MP to shadow Northern Ireland secretary in 2020 before moving her to shadow transport secretary in 2021.

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National investigation into NHS maternity services launched after families ‘gaslit’

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National investigation into NHS maternity services launched after families 'gaslit'

A “rapid” national investigation into NHS maternity services has been launched by the government.

The announcement comes after Health Secretary Wes Streeting met families who have lost babies and amid the ongoing investigations at some NHS trusts into maternity care failings.

The investigation in England is intended to provide truth to families suffering harm, as well as driving urgent improvements to care and safety, as part of efforts to ensure “no parent or baby is ever let down again”.

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The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) welcomed the government’s announcement and said maternity services were “at, or even beyond, breaking point”.

Last week, the NHS regulator said maternity and neonatal services at two Leeds hospitals had been rated inadequate over safety issues.

Mr Streeting, who was speaking at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) conference in London, apologised on behalf of the NHS for what families had been through and said it was “clear something is going wrong”.

He added: “For the past year, I have been meeting bereaved families from across the country who have lost babies or suffered serious harm during what should have been the most joyful time in their lives.

“What they have experienced is devastating – deeply painful stories of trauma, loss, and a lack of basic compassion – caused by failures in NHS maternity care that should never have happened.

“Their bravery in speaking out has made it clear: we must act – and we must act now.”

Mr Streeting said families have had to “fight for truth and justice” and had described being “ignored, gaslit, lied to, manipulated and damaged further by the inability for a trust to simply be honest with them that something has gone wrong”.

Health secretary doesn’t want any deaths on his watch

This was a powerful speech from the health secretary who is clearly troubled by the scandalous state of maternity services in this country.

Wes Streeting has spent the past year meeting bereaved families who have been failed by the NHS.

He said he “was kept up at night” after listening to their harrowing testimonies.

Announcing a national investigation into NHS maternity services, this review is modelled on the Darzi report into the NHS, commissioned by the health secretary almost as soon as he came into office.

It will be “rapid”. The terms of reference for the investigation will be known by July. The actual report is expected to be published by Christmas.

Mr Streeting accepts this is an ambitious timeline but is driven by the fear that mothers and babies are still being failed and he does not want “any deaths on his watch”.

Read the full analysis here.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting speaking during the RCOG World Congress 2025.
Pic: PA
Image:
Wes Streeting speaking during the RCOG conference. Pic: PA

The investigation will consist of two parts.

The first will investigate up to 10 of the most concerning maternity and neonatal units, including Sussex, in the coming weeks to give affected families answers as quickly as possible, according to the Department of Health.

The second will be a “system-wide” look at maternity and neonatal care, uniting lessons from past inquiries to create one clear set of actions designed to improve NHS care.

A National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce will be chaired by Mr Streeting and made up of experts and bereaved families.

The investigation will begin this summer and report back by December.

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Sir Jim Mackey, chief executive of NHS England, said: “This rapid national investigation must mark a line in the sand for maternity care – setting out one set of clear actions for NHS leaders to ensure high quality care for all.”

Dr Ranee Thakar, president of the RCOG, said: “The maternity workforce is on its knees, with many now leaving the profession.”

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RCM chief executive Gill Walton said: “Everyone involved in maternity services – the midwifery community, obstetricians, anaesthetists, sonographers and, of course, the women and families in their care – knows that maternity services are at, or even beyond, breaking point.

“This renewed focus and commitment by the health secretary to deliver change is welcome, and we will do everything we can to support him in doing so.”

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