Britain's Transport Minister Louise Hague resigns in a cellphone fraud case, court finds her guilty in the 11-year-old case.
Britain's Transport Minister Louise Hague resigned on Friday. She resigned from her post after being found guilty in a nearly decade-old cellphone fraud case. In a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Hague said that I am fully committed to my political responsibilities, but now I believe that resigning from the post would be the most appropriate.
Foreign media is claiming that fraud charges were framed against Hague just hours before his resignation. Hague had said in 2014 that his cellphone had been stolen. However, later Hague said that he had mistakenly included the cellphone among the stolen items. When Hague turned on his cellphone after finding it, the police called him for questioning, but Hague pleaded guilty to fraud by giving false statements, after which he was acquitted with certain conditions.
Hague said- I confess my crime on the basis of the advice of the lawyer
According to media reports, Hague said in a statement before her resignation that as per the advice of my lawyer, I confess my crime. However, the fact is that I made a mistake. The magistrate accepted all these arguments and acquitted me. Hague has been a Member of Parliament from Sheffield in northern England since 2015. After the Starmer-led Labour Party came into power in July, he was given the responsibility of Transport Minister.
Hague was replaced by Heidi Alexander
After Hague's resignation, Keir Starmer has appointed 49-year-old Heidi Alexander as Transport Minister. Alexander returned to Parliament in July's general election after a six-year absence. For some of those six years, she also held a key position at London's City Hall overseeing the capital's transport system.