Diane Abbott has claimed Sir Keir Starmer threw Louise Haigh "under the bus" after she resigned over a historic misdemeanour.

Labour party’s Haigh was the youngest member of PM Keir Starmer’s cabinet when a decade-old fraud case resurfaced.

Louise Haigh has resigned as transport secretary after it emerged she pleaded guilty to a fraud offence a decade ago. Downing Street has named justice minister Heidi Alexander as her replacement. Haigh has admitted telling police in 2013 she had lost her work mobile phone in a mugging, but later found it had not been taken.

Louise Haigh had been the youngest member of the Cabinet before it came to light that she had an old conviction for fraud by misrepresentation

A Cabinet minister has said he does not know “who knew what when” in relation to the criminal conviction which saw Louise Haigh quit as transport secretary. Ms Haigh resigned on Friday after it emerged she had pleaded guilty to a criminal offence related to incorrectly telling police that a work mobile phone was stolen in 2013.

The first cabinet resignation is a moment for any government and a rite of passage for any prime minister. There is the first enforced shuffle of personnel at the top table for a start, a headache for Downing Street as they scour the subs bench for replacements,

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster told Trevor Phillips the issue of Louise Haigh was dealt with quickly. Ms Haigh quit as transport secretary after Sky News revealed she said she had her phone stolen when it had not been.

Louise Haigh’s resignation as the transport secretary is raising serious questions for Keir Starmer. The Labour MP quit suddenly on Friday morning, less than 12 hours after reports of her 2014 fraud conviction emerged.