Louise Haigh: Sheffield MP resigns as Transport Secretary over past conviction

In her resignation letter, the Labour MP for Heeley descrbed the incident as a "mistake" but added: "Whatever the facts of the matter, this issue will inevitably be a distraction from delivering on the work of this government".

Her letter reads: "As you know, 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.”

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She said she is "totally committed to our political project" but believes "it will be best served by my supporting you from outside Government".

"I am sorry to leave under these circumstances, but I take pride in what we have done. I will continue to fight every day for the people of Sheffield Heeley who I was first and foremost elected to represent and to ensure that the rest of our programme is delivered in full," she wrote.

Sir Keir Starmer has thanked Ms Haigh for her work to deliver the Government's transport agenda.

Yesterday, Sky News and the Times newspaper reported that Ms Haigh had admitted an offence in 2014 following the incident.

She had reported that her work phone device was stolen when she was mugged in 2013 but discovered "some time later" that the phone had not been taken. She did not notify police at that time.

She said the matter was a "genuine mistake" from which she "did not make any gain", and that magistrates gave her the "lowest possible outcome".

Ms Haigh pleaded guilty to making a false report to police at a magistrates' court six months before becoming an MP in 2015 election. Her case was dealt with by a ‘discharge’.

In her resignation letter, Ms Haigh said that her appointment as the “youngest ever” female Cabinet member remains “one of the proudest achievements of my life”.

She said she is “sorry to leave under these circumstances” and will “continue to fight every day for the people of Sheffield Heeley.”