DISGRACED former minister Louise Haigh has been moved from her previous frontbench role after getting close to a nationalist politician.
The former transport minister, who resigned last month following a fraud conviction, struck up a friendship with Colum Eastwood when she was shadow Northern Ireland minister from 2020-21.
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Louise Haigh struck up a friendship with Colum Eastwood while shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Credit: PA
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Labor insiders were concerned about the friendship’s potential impact on her shadow NI role Credit: PA
At the time, 41-year-old Eastwood was head of the Social Democratic and Labor Party, which supports a united Ireland.
Northern Ireland’s politics are sensitive given the history of sectarian violence during the Troubles.
Labor insiders were concerned about the potential influence of the friendship, The Sun was told on Sunday.
Sir Keir Starmer moved Ms Haigh, 37, to shadow transport secretary in his 2021 reshuffle.
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A source said: “Northern Ireland is a sensitive subject.
“You have to tread the path between the nationalists and the Democratic Unionist Party.”
Ms Haigh and Mr Eastwood did not respond to requests for comment, while Labor declined to comment.
Ms Haigh resigned as transport minister nine days ago after it emerged she had committed an offense of fraud in 2014.
A year before, she told the police that she had lost her work phone in a robbery, and later discovered that it had not been taken, but did not inform the officers.
She was given a conditional discharge following the incident which happened before she became MP for Sheffield Heeley.
Transport Minister Louise Haigh has admitted she was convicted of fraud after she told police her phone had been stolen
Haigh described the incident as a genuine mistake from which she had no benefit.
She said Sir Keir knew about her conviction.
He said she was only asked to resign after “further information came in,” but declined to say what.
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