George Bunn
Guest Reporter
Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has admitted pleading guilty to an offence connected with misleading the police while a parliamentary candidate in 2014
Haigh appeared at Camberwell Green Magistrates' Court six months before the 2015 general election, after making a false report to detectives that her mobile phone had been stolen, reports Sky News.
The MP for Sheffield Heeley said she was "mugged while on a night out" in 2013. She then subsequently reported the incident to the police and gave officers a list of items she believed had been taken, including a work mobile phone.
The transport secretary told Sky News she discovered "some time later" that "the mobile in question had not been taken" adding that "in the interim, I had been issued with another work phone."
Chairman of the Conservative Party Nigel Huddleston said: "These are extremely concerning revelations about the person responsible for managing £30bn of taxpayers' money.
"Keir Starmer has serious questions to answer regarding what he knew and when about the person he appointed as Transport Secretary admitting to having misled the police."
The transport secretary said: "The original work device being switched on triggered police attention and I was asked to come in for questioning. My solicitor advised me not to comment during that interview and I regret following that advice. The police referred the matter to the CPS and I appeared before Southwark magistrates."
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."
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According to Sky News the incident was disclosed in full when Haigh was appointed to the then Shadow Cabinet in 2017.
Before she entered politics she was a special constable for the Metropolitan Police and served in the capital between 2009 and 2011 in the South London Borough of Lambeth.
Haigh continued in her statement: "The original work device being switched on triggered police attention and I was asked to come in for questioning. I was a young woman and the experience was terrifying."
It comes as there has been speculation her cabinet role could be under threat in a future reshuffle.
Sue Gray's son, Labour MP for Beckenham and Penge Liam Conlon, is Haigh's parliamentary private secretary and acts as her "eyes and ears" in parliament, while another of her former employees also worked for the former chief of staff before she was sacked after losing a power struggle within Number 10.
Earlier today, the Sheffield Heeley MP launched the Government’s new Integrated National Transport Strategy, which will be published next year after a series of regional roadshows and consultation with metro mayors.
In a speech at Leeds Civic Hall, she said she had taken inspiration from a visit to Dijon earlier this year, where all modes of public transport are joined up in one app.
“(Dijon’s) fully integrated transport network is reliable, efficient and effective. And they built it, essentially, from scratch. It has succeeded in driving down congestion and pollution because when you build a genuinely integrated transport network people choose to use it," she said.
"Technology is helping Dijon iron out the wrinkles in the system that can put people off using public transport. They are moving to a system where you can use your phone to pay, even if it has run out of battery. Tickets and car parking are priced dynamically depending on levels of air pollution.
"A single app brings together every mode of transport – from bus to tram, car hire to bike hire, planning your journey to paying for parking."
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Haigh appeared at Camberwell Green Magistrates' Court six months before the 2015 general election, after making a false report to detectives that her mobile phone had been stolen, reports Sky News.
The MP for Sheffield Heeley said she was "mugged while on a night out" in 2013. She then subsequently reported the incident to the police and gave officers a list of items she believed had been taken, including a work mobile phone.
The transport secretary told Sky News she discovered "some time later" that "the mobile in question had not been taken" adding that "in the interim, I had been issued with another work phone."
Chairman of the Conservative Party Nigel Huddleston said: "These are extremely concerning revelations about the person responsible for managing £30bn of taxpayers' money.
"Keir Starmer has serious questions to answer regarding what he knew and when about the person he appointed as Transport Secretary admitting to having misled the police."
The transport secretary said: "The original work device being switched on triggered police attention and I was asked to come in for questioning. My solicitor advised me not to comment during that interview and I regret following that advice. The police referred the matter to the CPS and I appeared before Southwark magistrates."
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."
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According to Sky News the incident was disclosed in full when Haigh was appointed to the then Shadow Cabinet in 2017.
Before she entered politics she was a special constable for the Metropolitan Police and served in the capital between 2009 and 2011 in the South London Borough of Lambeth.
Haigh continued in her statement: "The original work device being switched on triggered police attention and I was asked to come in for questioning. I was a young woman and the experience was terrifying."
It comes as there has been speculation her cabinet role could be under threat in a future reshuffle.
Sue Gray's son, Labour MP for Beckenham and Penge Liam Conlon, is Haigh's parliamentary private secretary and acts as her "eyes and ears" in parliament, while another of her former employees also worked for the former chief of staff before she was sacked after losing a power struggle within Number 10.
Earlier today, the Sheffield Heeley MP launched the Government’s new Integrated National Transport Strategy, which will be published next year after a series of regional roadshows and consultation with metro mayors.
In a speech at Leeds Civic Hall, she said she had taken inspiration from a visit to Dijon earlier this year, where all modes of public transport are joined up in one app.
“(Dijon’s) fully integrated transport network is reliable, efficient and effective. And they built it, essentially, from scratch. It has succeeded in driving down congestion and pollution because when you build a genuinely integrated transport network people choose to use it," she said.
"Technology is helping Dijon iron out the wrinkles in the system that can put people off using public transport. They are moving to a system where you can use your phone to pay, even if it has run out of battery. Tickets and car parking are priced dynamically depending on levels of air pollution.
"A single app brings together every mode of transport – from bus to tram, car hire to bike hire, planning your journey to paying for parking."
Find Out More...