Veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott has claimed Sir Keir Starmer threw Louise Haigh “under the bus” after she resigned over a historic misdemeanour.
Cabinet minister Pat McFadden claimed the situation had been dealt with “very quickly” after the surprise announcement was made last week.
He said Louise Haigh’s resignation showed a “big contrast” between a Conservative and Labour government as it “didn’t drag on for weeks”.
Talking to Sky News, he also rejected claims that the government looked “chaotic” after senior Labour figures accepted free Taylor Swift tickets and clothes from Lord Alli.
However, Labour MP and mother of the House of Commons Diane Abbott criticised Keir Starmer’s judgment, accusing him of throwing one of his most left-wing ministers “under the bus”. She added the prime minister’s ruthlessness “only makes him look bad”.
Ms Abbott told the BBC: “[The prime minister] knew that she had this problem with her claim for her mobile phone. He knew it from the beginning, and now to throw her under the bus like this, I don’t get it.
“She was one of our more effective cabinet ministers, and why do this to her? And again, he doesn’t seem to understand, it makes him look bad.”
Louise Haigh quit as transport secretary last week after it was revealed that she pleaded guilty and was convicted in 2014 for falsely reporting her phone as stolen. She said her conviction, which is believed to be fraud related, was a “genuine mistake” from which she did not benefit.
It is understood Keir Starmer knew about her conviction when she joined the shadow cabinet in 2020 but Downing Street withdrew their support on Friday after “further information” came to light. No 10 has refused to say what information this is.
The former justice minister and deputy mayor of London, who was responsible for Transport, Heidi Alexander, replaced her in the cabinet.
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