Transport Secretary's decade-old police report comes back to haunt her career
A high-ranking Labour official faces questions about a past incident with police from her pre-MP days. The case involves a misreported stolen phone that led to legal consequences
In a pre-holiday season revelation Louise Haigh‚ the Transport Secretary has acknowledged her decade-old legal trouble involving a false police statement
The incident dates to 13ʼ when she reported getting mugged during a night-time outing (which actually happened) but included a work-issued mobile phone in the list of stolen items; which later turned-up elsewhere. After police investigation she appeared in court and got the minimum possible punishment
In 2013‚ I was mugged while on a night out. I was a young woman and the experience was terrifying
The Conservative Party chair Nigel Huddleston raised concerns about this revelation: pointing fingers at Sir Keir Starmerʼs judgment in appointing someone with such history to a high-ranking position. However its worth noting that Haigh informed Starmer about this issue when joining shadow cabinet around 4 years ago
Before her political career Haigh worked at Aviva and served as a special constable in south London. Her background includes:
- Shadow Northern Ireland secretary position
- Sheffield Heeley MP since 15ʼ
- Shadow policing minister under Jeremy Corbyn
- Current role as shadow transport secretary
The situation gets more complex as sources suggest the incident might have been connected to workplace phone upgrades - though Haigh maintains it was just an honest mistake. She followed her lawyers advice during questioning which she now says she regrets
