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UK Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has resigned after admitting that she had pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to the loss of her mobile phone, a new setback for the government after its first five months in power. full of pain.
“Whatever the truth of the matter, this matter is bound to be a distraction from the work of this government,” Haigh said in his resignation letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Haigh admitted in a statement Thursday that she pleaded guilty a decade ago to a minor criminal offense involving a cellphone she believed was stolen.
Haigh, who is on the left of Labor partysays she told police she lost the device in a “horrifying” robbery on a night out in 2013 – only to later discover it hadn’t been taken after all.
The 37-year-old congressman said that the inaccurate statement was “a real mistake”.
Acknowledging Haigh’s decision to step down, Starmer said she had helped deliver an ambitious transport agenda. “I know you still have big contributions to make in the future,” he said.
The resignations come after a tense month for the Labor government following last month’s Budget, which was criticized by businesses for the biggest tax rise in a generation.
As transport secretary, she was responsible for everything from High Speed 2 and the nationalization of the rail system to electric vehicle policy.
Haigh’s decision comes amid tense negotiations with the auto industry over how to ease the country’s electric vehicle sales regulations, which manufacturers say are too difficult due to Demand for electric vehicles is weakening.
Before being elected – and at the time of his crimes – Haigh worked as director of public policy for Aviva. She also volunteered as a special police officer in the Metropolitan Special Police Service from 2009 to 2011.
Haigh said she intends to continue as an MP. She has represented Sheffield Heeley since 2015.
“I remain fully committed to our political project, but I now believe it will be best served if I support you from outside government,” she said in her letter to Starmer.
