Heidi Alexander has been appointed Transport Secretary, replacing Louise Haigh, Downing Steet said. The Swindon South MP steps in after Louise Haigh resigned.
It had emerged that she pleaded guilty to a criminal offence related to incorrectly telling police that a work mobile phone was stolen in 2013. Ms Haigh said that she was mugged in London and gave police a list of stolen possessions, including a work phone, when she reported the incident.
She said she later found the phone was still in her house. The Prime Minister’s official X account said: “Heidi Alexander MP @Heidi_Labour has been appointed Secretary of State for Transport.”
In a letter to Sir Keir Starmer she said: “I should have immediately informed my employer and not doing so straight away was a mistake.
“I appreciate that whatever the facts of the matter, this issue will inevitably be a distraction from delivering on the work of this government and the policies to which we are both committed.”
It is understood the incident was disclosed to Sir Keir when she joined the shadow cabinet. Ms Haigh pleaded guilty in court over the incident on the advice of a solicitor and magistrates gave her the “lowest possible outcome”, she said in a statement.
It is understood that it was a fraud offence and that the conviction is now spent.