Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has admitted to pleading guilty to an offence involving misleading the police back in 2014. According to Sky News, Ms. Haigh appeared in court before the 2015 general election after falsely reporting that her mobile phone had been stolen. She claimed she was mugged while on a night out in 2013 and reported the incident to the police, including listing items she believed were taken, such as a work mobile phone.
However, she later discovered that the phone in question had not been taken and that she had been issued another work phone in the meantime. The original work device being switched on drew police attention, leading to her being questioned. Despite her solicitor’s advice to remain silent during the interview, she regrets following that guidance. Ms. Haigh pleaded guilty under her solicitor’s advice, even though she did not gain anything from the mistake. The court accepted her arguments and gave her the lowest possible outcome, a discharge, and her conviction is now classified as ‘spent.’
It was reported by three separate sources that she made the false report for personal gain, with two sources claiming she wanted a more modern work handset that her colleagues were receiving at the time. Ms. Haigh previously worked as a public policy manager at Aviva but lost her job at the insurance firm due to the incident. Despite this, the incident was disclosed when she was appointed to the shadow cabinet.
Conservative Party Chairman Nigel Huddleston expressed serious concerns over the revelations and called for Keir Starmer to answer questions regarding his knowledge of Ms. Haigh’s actions. Before entering politics, Louise Haigh served as a special constable in the Metropolitan Police from 2009 to 2011 in South London.
As the shadow policing minister in 2017, Ms. Haigh utilized her policing experience to challenge the government on police-related matters. She later became the shadow Northern Ireland secretary in 2020 and then the shadow transport secretary in 2021. In her role as transport secretary, she criticized P&O Ferries for mass layoffs in 2022, leading to a review of a planned UK port investment by the company.
Despite her outspokenness, she faced criticism from Sir Keir Starmer for her views not aligning with the government’s stance. There have been rumors of her cabinet position being at risk, especially with connections to Sue Gray, former Downing Street chief of staff. Ms. Haigh is known for her left-wing views and has advocated for rail and bus reform to uproot Thatcherism.
She nominated Jeremy Corbyn as leader in 2015, a decision she later expressed regret over. As a prominent figure in the Labour Party, Louise Haigh’s past actions have come under scrutiny but have not deterred her from advocating for change in the transport sector.
