Transport secretary pleaded guilty to 2014 work phone incident

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has admitted pleading blameworthy to a transgression offence relating to a constabulary probe implicit a mobile telephone she claimed was stolen.

In a statement, Haigh said she told constabulary she had mislaid her telephone during a mugging connected a nighttime retired successful 2013 but aboriginal recovered it had not been taken.

She said it was a "genuine mistake" but had been advised by a lawyer "not to comment" during a constabulary interview. The constabulary past referred the lawsuit to the Crown Prosecution Service, she said.

She said she pleaded blameworthy to making a mendacious study to constabulary astatine magistrates' tribunal six months earlier becoming an MP successful the 2015 election, and received a discharge - the "lowest imaginable outcome".

A discharge is simply a benignant of condemnation fixed to idiosyncratic who is blameworthy of an offence but wherever the tribunal decides not to enforce a important punishment.

Whitehall sources person told the BBC that the transport caput declared her discharge connected assignment to the shadiness furniture erstwhile the Labour Party was successful opposition.

In a statement, Haigh said: “In 2013 I was mugged portion connected a nighttime out. I was a young pistillate and the acquisition was terrifying.

"I reported it to the constabulary and gave them a database of what I believed had been taken - including a enactment mobile telephone that had been issued by my employer.

“Some clip aboriginal I discovered that the mobile successful question had not been taken. In the interim I had been issued with different enactment phone.

“The archetypal enactment instrumentality being switched connected triggered constabulary attraction and I was asked to travel successful for questioning.

"My solicitor advised maine not to remark during that interrogation and I regret pursuing that advice.

“The constabulary referred the substance to the CPS and I appeared earlier magistrates' court.

"Under the proposal of my solicitor I pleaded blameworthy - contempt the information this was a genuine mistake from which I did not marque immoderate gain. The magistrates accepted each of these arguments and gave maine the lowest imaginable result - a discharge - available.”

Louise Haigh is simply a erstwhile Special Constable, a unpaid constabulary serviceman with afloat powers of apprehension who served with the Metropolitan Police until 2011.

The BBC has asked the Department for Transport to clarify the offence she pleaded blameworthy to and whether the discharge was conditional, oregon unconditional.