Wednesday, 15 January, 2025
The British minister overseeing financial services and anti-corruption efforts resigned on Tuesday following weeks of scrutiny regarding her financial connections to her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, the former prime minister of Bangladesh who was ousted last year.
Tulip Siddiq, 42, consistently denied any misconduct, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed his full confidence in her as recently as last week, according to news agencies.
In her resignation letter to the PM, she said she was standing down as her position had become a “distraction” and thanked the Labour leader for his confidence in her.
In a statement, Siddiq said although an investigation into her financial affairs found she had not breached the ministerial code of conduct, her position was "likely to be a distraction from the work of the government".
"I have therefore decided to resign from my ministerial position," she said.
Starmer swiftly appointed Emma Reynolds, who was a pensions minister, to Siddiq's role.
She had been investigated by Sir Laurie after reports that she lived in properties in London linked to allies of her aunt, Sheikh Hasina.
In her letter, Ms Siddiq said that after reviewing the matter: “Sir Laurie has confirmed that I have not breached the ministerial code. As he notes, there is no evidence to suggest that I have acted improperly about the properties I have owned or lived in.”
Siddiq’s departure marks the second resignation of a government minister within two months, dealing a significant setback to Starmer. The prime minister's approval ratings have sharply declined since his Labour Party’s general election victory in July.
Ms. Siddiq, 42, is the niece of Sheikh Hasina, the ousted former prime minister of Bangladesh. After 15 years in power, she resigned last year and fled the country amid a broad student-led protest against her repressive rule.
A junior minister in Mr. Starmer’s government, Ms. Siddiq had previously referred herself to the prime minister’s ethics adviser for investigation after questions arose over whether she had benefited financially from her ties to Sheikh Hasina.
Ms Siddiq has dismissed the allegations against her as politically motivated and insisted that she did nothing wrong. But in an official letter of resignation to Mr. Starmer on Tuesday, she wrote that the media focus on her risked diverting attention from the government’s political agenda.
“I want to assure you that I acted and have continued to act with full transparency and on the advice of officials on these matters,” Ms. Siddiq wrote. “However it is clear that my continuing in my role as economic secretary to the Treasury is likely to be a distraction from the work of the government.”
As economic secretary to the Treasury, a position she was given when the Labour Party came to power last July, Ms. Siddiq was responsible for tackling corruption in financial markets, including money laundering and illicit finance.
Siddiq was handed the portfolio for financial services policy after the election, a role that included responsibility for measures against money laundering.
Hasina, who had ruled Bangladesh since 2009, is being investigated there on suspicion of corruption and money laundering. Hasina and her party deny wrongdoing.
Siddiq was named in December as part of Bangladesh's investigation into whether her family were involved in siphoning off funds from Bangladeshi infrastructure projects.
The anti-corruption commission alleged financial irregularities worth billions of dollars in the awarding of a $12.65 billion nuclear power contract, saying Hasina and Siddiq may have benefited.
After facing further scrutiny over the use of properties in Britain linked to Hasina and her supporters, Siddiq referred herself to the government's independent ethics adviser.
Siddiq lived in a north London property given to her family in 2009 by Moin Ghani, a Bangladeshi lawyer who has represented Hasina's government, documents filed with Companies House and the Land Registry show.
She also acquired a separate property in London in 2004, without paying for it, from a developer linked to the Awami League, Hasina's political party, the Financial Times reported this month.
Hasina fled Bangladesh after being toppled following weeks of protests.
Siddiq's departure follows the resignation of British transport minister Louise Haigh late last year. Haigh acknowledged a minor criminal offence before she entered government, relating to a mobile phone that she had wrongly reported stolen.
Ms. Siddiq was born in London. Her father was an academic, and her mother, Sheikh Rehana, is the sister of Ms. Hasina. The two sisters were the only survivors of a 1975 military coup that massacred the rest of their family, including their father, Sheikh Mujib ur Rehman, the founding leader of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, said in an interview last weekend with The Sunday Times that Ms. Siddiq should apologize and that the London properties should be handed back to his government if they were gained through corrupt means.
On Tuesday, Kemi Badenoch, leader of the main opposition Conservative Party, criticized the prime minister for failing to take action earlier.
“It was clear at the weekend that the anti-corruption minister’s position was completely untenable,” she wrote on social media. “Yet Keir Starmer dithered and delayed to protect his close friend.”
In the official exchange of letters following Ms. Siddiq’s departure, Mr. Starmer wrote that his former minister had “made a difficult decision,” but added that “the door remains open” to her going forward — signalling that a return to a government might be possible for her in the future.
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The British minister overseeing financial services and anti-corruption efforts resigned on Tuesday following weeks of scrutiny regarding her financial connections to her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, the former prime minister of Bangladesh who was ousted last year.
Tulip Siddiq, 42, consistently denied any misconduct, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed his full confidence in her as recently as last week, according to news agencies.
In her resignation letter to the PM, she said she was standing down as her position had become a “distraction” and thanked the Labour leader for his confidence in her.
In a statement, Siddiq said although an investigation into her financial affairs found she had not breached the ministerial code of conduct, her position was "likely to be a distraction from the work of the government".
"I have therefore decided to resign from my ministerial position," she said.
Starmer swiftly appointed Emma Reynolds, who was a pensions minister, to Siddiq's role.
She had been investigated by Sir Laurie after reports that she lived in properties in London linked to allies of her aunt, Sheikh Hasina.
In her letter, Ms Siddiq said that after reviewing the matter: “Sir Laurie has confirmed that I have not breached the ministerial code. As he notes, there is no evidence to suggest that I have acted improperly about the properties I have owned or lived in.”
Siddiq’s departure marks the second resignation of a government minister within two months, dealing a significant setback to Starmer. The prime minister's approval ratings have sharply declined since his Labour Party’s general election victory in July.
Ms. Siddiq, 42, is the niece of Sheikh Hasina, the ousted former prime minister of Bangladesh. After 15 years in power, she resigned last year and fled the country amid a broad student-led protest against her repressive rule.
A junior minister in Mr. Starmer’s government, Ms. Siddiq had previously referred herself to the prime minister’s ethics adviser for investigation after questions arose over whether she had benefited financially from her ties to Sheikh Hasina.
Ms Siddiq has dismissed the allegations against her as politically motivated and insisted that she did nothing wrong. But in an official letter of resignation to Mr. Starmer on Tuesday, she wrote that the media focus on her risked diverting attention from the government’s political agenda.
“I want to assure you that I acted and have continued to act with full transparency and on the advice of officials on these matters,” Ms. Siddiq wrote. “However it is clear that my continuing in my role as economic secretary to the Treasury is likely to be a distraction from the work of the government.”
As economic secretary to the Treasury, a position she was given when the Labour Party came to power last July, Ms. Siddiq was responsible for tackling corruption in financial markets, including money laundering and illicit finance.
Siddiq was handed the portfolio for financial services policy after the election, a role that included responsibility for measures against money laundering.
Hasina, who had ruled Bangladesh since 2009, is being investigated there on suspicion of corruption and money laundering. Hasina and her party deny wrongdoing.
Siddiq was named in December as part of Bangladesh's investigation into whether her family were involved in siphoning off funds from Bangladeshi infrastructure projects.
The anti-corruption commission alleged financial irregularities worth billions of dollars in the awarding of a $12.65 billion nuclear power contract, saying Hasina and Siddiq may have benefited.
After facing further scrutiny over the use of properties in Britain linked to Hasina and her supporters, Siddiq referred herself to the government's independent ethics adviser.
Siddiq lived in a north London property given to her family in 2009 by Moin Ghani, a Bangladeshi lawyer who has represented Hasina's government, documents filed with Companies House and the Land Registry show.
She also acquired a separate property in London in 2004, without paying for it, from a developer linked to the Awami League, Hasina's political party, the Financial Times reported this month.
Hasina fled Bangladesh after being toppled following weeks of protests.
Siddiq's departure follows the resignation of British transport minister Louise Haigh late last year. Haigh acknowledged a minor criminal offence before she entered government, relating to a mobile phone that she had wrongly reported stolen.
Ms. Siddiq was born in London. Her father was an academic, and her mother, Sheikh Rehana, is the sister of Ms. Hasina. The two sisters were the only survivors of a 1975 military coup that massacred the rest of their family, including their father, Sheikh Mujib ur Rehman, the founding leader of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, said in an interview last weekend with The Sunday Times that Ms. Siddiq should apologize and that the London properties should be handed back to his government if they were gained through corrupt means.
On Tuesday, Kemi Badenoch, leader of the main opposition Conservative Party, criticized the prime minister for failing to take action earlier.
“It was clear at the weekend that the anti-corruption minister’s position was completely untenable,” she wrote on social media. “Yet Keir Starmer dithered and delayed to protect his close friend.”
In the official exchange of letters following Ms. Siddiq’s departure, Mr. Starmer wrote that his former minister had “made a difficult decision,” but added that “the door remains open” to her going forward — signalling that a return to a government might be possible for her in the future.
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