BREAKING:

Louise Haigh has resigned over her conviction for fraud, saying the issue ‘will inevitably be a distraction from delivering on the work of this government and the policies to which we are committed’

She says that her failure to tell her employer Aviva that she had found her stolen handset ‘straight away’ was a mistake

‘I am sorry to leave under these circumstances but I take pride in what we have done’

Starmer’s response is strikingly brief, thanking her for the work she has done


Deary me

The Tory spokesman added: “Louise Haigh has done the right thing in resigning. It is clear she has failed to behave to the standards expected of an MP.”

Oh my facking god

Unless there's more to it then this seems like a weird statement resignation

She was mugged for her handbag, thought her work mobile was in the bag, finds out it's at home, tells the police she was mistaken and then gets charged for misleading police

This isnt a new revelation either, she declared it when she first ran to be an MP

https://youtube.com/watch?v=RKXvfeg6-CQ

Decent flow.

Shame as well as she seemed like she was doing good things in her role.

comment by CrouchEndGooner (U13531)
posted 30 minutes ago
Unless there's more to it then this seems like a weird statement resignation

She was mugged for her handbag, thought her work mobile was in the bag, finds out it's at home, tells the police she was mistaken and then gets charged for misleading police

This isnt a new revelation either, she declared it when she first ran to be an MP
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It was a work phone. In the article, it's implied (as per statements from two different sources) that she filed the false mugging claim because she wanted one of the new, better phones that were being handed out at work.

She didn't report that she'd found the old phone. She was called in for question because the police detected that she'd turned it on again.

Didn’t she used to be a police officer as well?

Volunteer officer, yes.

All that aside, it seems she had ties to Sue Gray (whose son was Haigh's assistant or some such), so I guess the actual reason, rather than what's been leaked to the press, could well be a Downing Street purge.

Pretty funny if you imagine it all going down in The Thick of It style.

comment by Maximus Decimus Meridius (U11781)
posted 46 minutes ago
The Tory spokesman added: “Louise Haigh has done the right thing in resigning. It is clear she has failed to behave to the standards expected of an MP.”

Oh my facking god
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FFS

It seems the fraud was known to the party, despite which she was still awarded responsibilities by both Corbyn and Starmer.

Quite obviously, someone capable of putting in a false police claim just so they can get a snazzy new phone clearly shouldn't be given any kind of political decision-making powers, let alone one where they're overseeing multi-million pound contracts.

It goes to show what the political class is made of, when two different leaders just swept this under the carpet.

Bad as it is, though, something like this here in Spain wouldn't even make a blip on the political corruption radar.

comment by Maximus Decimus Meridius (U11781)
posted 1 hour, 14 minutes ago
The Tory spokesman added: “Louise Haigh has done the right thing in resigning. It is clear she has failed to behave to the standards expected of an MP.”

Oh my facking god
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What’s so funny?

Not surprising a clown like you doesn’t get it eh

Do we actually know if she did it to get a new phone though or is that just speculation at the mo?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdxy1kp73y9o

Says in here it was a genuine mistake, and she did receive a new work phone before finding the old one.

Nobody with a criminal conviction should EVER be allowed to stand as an MP, never mind hold an Office Of State.

If this IS the case and the current PM (and the former Labour leader in Shadow) were aware of this then he has to answer some difficult questions about his choices. We in the Labour party are quite clear about this. (Unlike the Tories who were quite happy to see convicted criminals spivs and frauds continue to represent their Party and even lead their party in Government during and after Covid).

Disagree massively

People have a right to a past should be afforded the opportunity to attone and turn their lives around

Blocking criminals (especially petty crime) from certain things in life is counter productive to rehabilitation and a safer society as you essentially create a situation where they're pushed further away from normal life

It should be up to the the local party and then the electorate whether they want someone with a conviction in office

comment by Lala (U3664)
posted 14 minutes ago
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdxy1kp73y9o

Says in here it was a genuine mistake, and she did receive a new work phone before finding the old one.
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Yeah, but the article posted earlier says this:

"However, three separate sources claimed she made the false report to benefit personally, with two of the sources alleging she wanted a more modern work handset that was being rolled out to her colleagues at the time.

The now cabinet minister had been working as a public policy manager at Aviva, but two sources said she lost her job at the insurance firm because of the incident.

Her government profile states she left this role in 2015 before becoming the MP for Sheffield Heeley at that year's general election."

Times Radio claim she was investigated for multiple incidents of mobile phone fraud.

She was 24, she should be given a 2nd chance.

Oh fack sake I agree with clappy

comment by Maximus Decimus Meridius (U11781)
posted 34 minutes ago
Not surprising a clown like you doesn’t get it eh
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Instead of throwing insults share the joke.

Assad flees to Russia as rebels begin assault on Aleppo.

comment by CrouchEndGooner (U13531)
posted 9 minutes ago
Disagree massively

People have a right to a past should be afforded the opportunity to attone and turn their lives around

Blocking criminals (especially petty crime) from certain things in life is counter productive to rehabilitation and a safer society as you essentially create a situation where they're pushed further away from normal life

It should be up to the the local party and then the electorate whether they want someone with a conviction in office
----------------------------------------------------------------------

I agree people should be entitled to a second chance if they atone and come clean, but if the Sky News report is to be believed, it's hard to say she's atoned when she still isn't telling the straight up truth ten years later.

If this was your own company, do you think you'd trust someone who's still lying about past instances of fraud to be overseeing multi-million pound contracts?

comment by Robben Amorim (U22716)
posted 4 minutes ago
Assad flees to Russia as rebels begin assault on Aleppo.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Where you getting that, Robb?

comment by it'sonlyagame (U6426)
posted 56 seconds ago
comment by CrouchEndGooner (U13531)
posted 9 minutes ago
Disagree massively

People have a right to a past should be afforded the opportunity to attone and turn their lives around

Blocking criminals (especially petty crime) from certain things in life is counter productive to rehabilitation and a safer society as you essentially create a situation where they're pushed further away from normal life

It should be up to the the local party and then the electorate whether they want someone with a conviction in office
----------------------------------------------------------------------

I agree people should be entitled to a second chance if they atone and come clean, but if the Sky News report is to be believed, it's hard to say she's atoned when she still isn't telling the straight up truth ten years later.

If this was your own company, do you think you'd trust someone who's still lying about past instances of fraud to be overseeing multi-million pound contracts?


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If she did it now as a minister then no but you're taking a sky news report on three unnamed sources who seem to have the perfect memory of something that happened over a decade ago

It's right that she resigned and showed the integrity now that she may have failed to do so in her early 20s but I'm really not going to judge her for this or say she's unfit for office as a result

It however should have been more publicly declared once Starmer knew

comment by it'sonlyagame (U6426)
posted about a minute ago
comment by Robben Amorim (U22716)
posted 4 minutes ago
Assad flees to Russia as rebels begin assault on Aleppo.
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Where you getting that, Robb?
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And why would he be fleeing anyway if the fighting's on the other side of the country from Damascus?