The leader of Norway’s far-left parties, member of parliament Bjornar Moxnes, resigned as party leader on Monday after he was caught stealing branded sunglasses from a store at Oslo airport, AFP reported.

“I made a big mistake and made it worse by the way I handled the situation afterwards,” Moxnes wrote on his Facebook page. “I am very sorry and I want to apologize,” he added in the message in which he announced his resignation.

On June 30, Moxnes said he had been fined 3,000 kroner (250 euros) for taking Hugo Boss sunglasses worth 1,199 kroner (about 100 euros) from a duty-free shop at Oslo airport two weeks ago without paying.

The 41-year-old politician admitted negligence, but changed his version several times due to the revelations surrounding this episode, recorded by video surveillance cameras, which seem to undermine the hypothesis of negligence on his part.

Currently on medical leave, Moxnes is stepping down as leader of the opposition Rodt (“Red”) party, which he led for 11 years and which he helped build to seven parliamentary seats in the 2021 parliamentary elections.

According to the rules in force in Norway, it is not possible to resign from an elected office, such as a member of parliament, during the term of office. Until then, the party’s number two, 37-year-old Marie Snev Martinussen, will temporarily take over the leadership of the political formation.