Convicted fraudster Lou Haigh stripped of public sector fraud brief

Published: 10:23, 22 July 2026 | Updated: 10:26, 22 July 2026 Louise Haigh will be spared the ignominy of tackling public sector fraud in her new brief, having been convicted of a similar offence herself. Ms Haigh was rewarded by Andy Burnham with the post of Cabinet Office minister for her role in returning him to Westminster to oust Keir Starmer as PM. And responsibility for the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA), which cracks down on scams involving public money, would typically sit within her remit. But the brief was quietly handed to Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden within hours of Ms Haigh’s appointment. In a statement on Tuesday, the Government said several functions would move out of the Cabinet Office ‘to slim down the centre of Government’ and ‘align them with departments suited to their purpose’. This would leave the PSFA moving to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) with support from the Treasury. A Cabinet Office spokesperson stressed on Tuesday that changes to departmental structures ‘were agreed ahead of ministerial appointments’ and that 'claiming otherwise is completely inaccurate'. But it follows Ms Haigh – now First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Cabinet Office minister – resigning from Keir Starmer’s government after it emerged she had a fraud conviction for misleading the police. Louise Haigh will be spared the ignominy of tackling public sector fraud in her new brief, having been convicted of a similar offence herself The public sector fraud brief was quietly handed to Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden within hours of Ms Haigh’s appointment She had told officers she had been ‘mugged while on a night out’ in 2013, and her work-issued phone stolen, but claimed later to have discovered it in a drawer. Ms Haigh pleaded guilty to making a false report to police in 2014, six months before she was elected as Sheffield Heeley’s Labour MP. The conviction is now classed as ‘spent’. But Kevin Hollinrake, chairman of the Conservative Party, said of the decision to move the brief: ‘Good. No one with a fraud conviction should be responsible for the Government’s fraud office. ‘In fact, there are serious questions about whether Louise Haigh should be in the Cabinet in the first place.’ The spokesperson added: ‘Several functions are being moved out of the Cabinet Office to slim down the centre of government, this includes the Public Sector Fraud Authority moving to the DWP because most work tackling fraud happens in that department.'