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Transport secretary resigns over spent fraud conviction

Sky News alleges Louise Haigh tried to scam her employer for phone upgrades

Louise Haig - Transport secretary

The UK is temporarily without a Transport Secretary leading the Department for Transport, after Louise Haigh resigned yesterday when news emerged of a spent conviction for fraud.

According to a Guardian report, the circumstances around the conviction are disputed, and Haigh hasn’t previously spoken on the record in public about an offence for which she was sentenced in 2014.

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However, we now know that she pleaded guilty to fraud by misrepresentation after her employer at the time – Aviva – launched an investigation with the police into a missing work phone. 

Sky News reports two sources alleging that the former Transport Secretary told Aviva her work phone was stolen in order to be issued with a newer model, while the Times claims that phones had gone missing on more than one occasion. However the Guardian cites a source close to Haigh saying those reports are “absolute nonsense”, and that in fact the incident was an honest mistake.

In a statement, Haigh maintained she had been mugged on a night out, and told police a number of items had been stolen, including her Aviva work phone. She says she subsequently found the old phone – having been issued with a new one – and when she switched the ‘stolen’ unit on, the police called her in for questioning.

The former Transport Secretary explained what happened in her resignation letter, saying: “In 2013 I was mugged in London. As a 24-year-old woman, the experience was terrifying. In the immediate aftermath, I reported the incident to the police. I gave the police a list of my possessions that I believed had been stolen, including my work phone. Some time later, I discovered that the handset in question was still in my house. I should have immediately informed my employer and not doing so straight away was a mistake.”

Haigh was the youngest Transport Secretary the UK has ever seen at 37 years old, but her five-month stint in the job has been controversial – she notably accused P&O Ferries of being a rogue operator, and called for a consumer boycott of the firm.

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Current affairs and features editor

Chris covers all aspects of motoring life for Auto Express. Over a long career he has contributed news and car reviews to brands such as Autocar, WhatCar?, PistonHeads, Goodwood and The Motor Trader.

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