Transport Secretary Louise Hague has pleaded guilty to criminal charges relating to a police investigation into a mobile phone she claimed she stole.
In a statement, Hague said she told police she had lost her phone during a burglary on a night out in 2013 but later discovered it had not been taken.
He said it was a “genuine mistake” but was advised by a lawyer not to “comment” during a police interview. The police then handed the case over to the Crown Prosecution Service.
He said he had pleaded guilty to making a false report to the police in a magistrates’ court six months before he became an MP at the 2015 election, and had received a discharge – “the least possible outcome”.
A discharge is a type of punishment given to someone who has been convicted of a crime but where the court decides not to impose a significant sentence.
Whitehall sources have told the BBC that the transport secretary announced his resignation over a shadow cabinet appointment while Labor was in opposition.
The BBC has been told that Hague has received a conditional discharge, but could not confirm the details of the specific offence.
In a statement, Hague said: “I was mugged on a night out in 2013. I was a young woman and the experience was terrifying.
“I reported this to the police and gave them a list of what I believed had been taken – including a work mobile phone issued by my employer.
“After some time I discovered that the mobile in question had not been taken. Meanwhile I was issued another work phone.
“Turning on the actual working device attracted the attention of the police and I was asked to come in for questioning.
“My lawyer advised me not to comment during the interview and I regret following that advice.
“The police referred the matter to the CPS and I appeared in the magistrate’s court.
“On the advice of my solicitor I pleaded guilty – despite the fact that it was a genuine mistake from which I had made no profit. The magistrates accepted all these arguments and gave me the lowest possible result – a Discharge – available.”
Hague has been MP for Sheffield Healy since 2015, and held a number of shadow ministerial and shadow cabinet roles before becoming transport secretary when Labor won the election in July.
He is also a former Special Constable, a volunteer police officer with full powers of arrest, and served with the Metropolitan Police until 2011.
The Conservative Party leader said the Prime Minister had “serious questions” to answer about the matter.
Nigel Hiddleston said in a statement: “These are deeply worrying revelations about the man responsible for managing £30bn of taxpayers’ money.”