Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has declined to elaborate on the circumstances surrounding the resignation of Louise Haigh, who stepped down as transport secretary last week.
Haigh’s resignation followed revelations of a fraud offence she pleaded guilty to over a decade ago. Reports suggest she disclosed the conviction to Sir Keir in 2020, when she was appointed to his shadow cabinet. However, questions remain about her continued appointment to a ministerial role after Labour's general election victory in July.
During Prime Minister’s Questions, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch questioned why Starmer had appointed a “convicted fraudster” to his Cabinet. Sir Keir defended his decision, stating Haigh had acted appropriately by resigning when "new information came to light." Pressed for details, he refused to discuss what that new information entailed, citing the need to respect private matters.
The exchange grew heated as Badenoch accused Starmer of "obfuscating" and demanded transparency, saying the public deserved clarity on the issue. “The country needs conviction politicians, not politicians with convictions,” she remarked.
Starmer responded by pointing out that two of Badenoch’s predecessors, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, had faced legal penalties for breaking COVID-19 rules during their tenure, a jab that highlighted the controversies surrounding the previous Conservative government. While fixed penalty notices are not classified as criminal convictions, Starmer used the comparison to deflect criticism.
Labour sources later amplified the attack, accusing the Conservatives of hypocrisy. “If they want to debate the extent of criminality in office, that’s fine by us,” one source remarked, alluding to the scandals involving former Tory leaders.
Haigh’s resignation marked the first ministerial departure since Labour took office in July. Details of her past conviction surfaced last week, with reports from Sky News and The Times revealing she had pleaded guilty to making a false police report in 2013. At the time, Haigh was working for Aviva and mistakenly reported a work mobile phone as stolen. When she later found the phone at home and activated it, police attention was drawn, leading to her conviction in magistrates’ court. Haigh insisted it was a genuine mistake, pleading guilty on legal advice. She received a conditional discharge six months before becoming an MP in 2015.
In her resignation letter, Haigh stated she did not want her past to distract from Labour's governance. However, concerns have arisen about her decision not to inform the government’s propriety and ethics team of her spent conviction upon becoming a Cabinet minister. Sources suggest she believed her earlier disclosure to Starmer sufficed.
Downing Street has avoided directly addressing whether Starmer was aware of Haigh's conviction when appointing her to the Cabinet. A spokesperson reiterated that Starmer accepted her resignation following "further information," but refused to provide specifics. Journalists pressed the issue for over 25 minutes, only to receive the same response: the matter is private.
Some within Labour circles have expressed frustration with Haigh for releasing her resignation statement to the media without prior consultation. They argue she should have sought guidance from senior civil servants before taking office as a minister.
Badenoch's spokesperson criticized Labour’s handling of the issue, demanding clarity. “Did he know about the criminal conviction and appoint her anyway, or was this new information that led to her dismissal? The public deserves answers,” they said.
For now, Sir Keir Starmer remains steadfast in maintaining that Haigh’s resignation is a private matter, leaving questions about Labour’s internal processes and accountability lingering. Photo by Laurie Noble, Wikimedia commons.