Minister denies Labour are like ‘tawdry’ Conservatives after Louise Haigh phone scandal

A minister has denied Labour as “tawdry and chaotic” as the Conservatives after the Louise Haigh phone scandal.

Ms Haigh stepped down as transport secretary this week after Sky News revealed she pleaded guilty and was convicted in 2014 after reporting her phone stolen when it had not been.

The conviction is believed to relate to fraud. Ms Haigh said it was a “genuine mistake” from which she did not benefit.

Two sources told Sky News officers who looked at metadata from the phone believed a photo she submitted of the handset had been taken after the alleged theft.

Pat McFadden, chancellor to the Duchy of Lancaster, told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips the issue was dealt with “very quickly” and he is sorry to see her go as “she was doing a good job”.

Asked whether the scandal, along with free Taylor Swift tickets, clothes and glasses for ministers, made Labour look “just as tawdry and chaotic as your predecessors did”, Mr McFadden said: “I don’t accept that for a minute.

“If you take this Louise Haigh situation, this story came to light and it was dealt with very quickly. Louise has decided to resign by the end of the day.

“This isn’t something that dragged on for weeks. It isn’t something where there happened to be endless stories about it before action was taken and within 24 hours, we have a new transport secretary.

“So I think the parallel you’re trying to draw doesn’t work and in fact, the speed at which this happened shows that there is no parallel.”

Mr McFadden said part of the issue for the public’s perception is how, and how quickly, scandals are dealt with.

The minister added that he did not know any further details than have been reported, and does not know “who knew what and when”.

“It’s not against the law for someone who’s had some kind of a conviction in the past, a conviction that is spent, as I understand it, to serve in parliament,” Mr McFadden said.

Ms Haigh resigned as transport secretary on Friday morning after her guilty plea was revealed the evening before. She was replaced by Heidi Alexander on Friday afternoon.

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Sky News has spoken to three sources who say the stolen phone report was pursued by Ms Haigh for her own personal gain.

Another source alleged the handset was used to call Ms Haigh’s mother soon after the reported theft, but Sky News was unable to verify the allegation.

On Thursday night, Ms Haigh said the incident arose after she was “mugged while on a night out” in 2013.

She said she reported the incident to the police and gave officers a list of items she believed had been taken – including a work mobile phone.

However, in her statement to Sky News, she said she discovered “some time later” that “the mobile in question had not been taken”.

In the interim she was issued with another work phone. When she turned on the original work device, it “triggered police attention and I was asked to come in for questioning”, she said.

“My solicitor advised me not to comment during that interview and I regret following that advice,” she added.

“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.”

It is understood Ms Haigh believes she disclosed the incident in full when she was appointed to the shadow cabinet in 2020.

However, Downing Street said on Friday that Ms Haigh resigned after “new information” emerged, but declined to say officially if the prime minister knew about the conviction when he appointed his cabinet in July.

On Friday, a source told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby that the story that emerged on Thursday was “inconsistent” with what Sir Keir had been told when Ms Haigh was appointed to his shadow cabinet.