British Transport Secretary Louise Haigh stepped down from her position on Friday, November 29, 2024, citing a decade-old fraud conviction involving her cellphone.

In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Haigh expressed her continued commitment to their shared political goals but emphasized that stepping down would better serve the government’s agenda. “I remain totally committed to our political project, but I now believe it will be best served by my supporting you from outside government. I appreciate that whatever the facts of the matter, this issue will inevitably be a distraction from delivering on the work of this government and the policies to which we are both committed,” she wrote.

The resignation followed reports revealing that Haigh had been charged with fraud in 2013 after claiming her cellphone had been stolen during a mugging. She later discovered the phone and switched it back on, leading to a police investigation. Haigh admitted to fraud by misrepresentation and received a conditional discharge.

In a statement prior to her resignation, Haigh clarified that her guilty plea was made on her solicitor’s advice. “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,” she said.

Haigh, 37, has represented a constituency in Sheffield, northern England, since 2015. She was appointed as Transport Secretary following the Labour Party's electoral victory in July 2024.

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