Tulip Siddiq, niece of former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, has resigned over alleged links to her aunt’s political party after days of uncertainty about whether she would be able to cling to her job.
Siddiq has been embroiled in a controversy surrounding claims she benefited from properties paid for or owned by figures linked to Hasina’s Awami League party which was ousted from power last year..
She was given a flat in London’s King’s Cross for free; a flat in upmarket Hamstead she used was given to her sister; and she rents her 2.1-million-pound Sterling House from a Bangladeshi businessman with political ties to Hasina.
Siddiq was the minister in charge of the London financial district. Ironically, her job also involved fighting corruption.
She was named last month in a Bangladesh investigation into claims her family embezzled billions of pounds in infrastructure spending in Bangladesh and siphoned the funds out of the country.
Now, Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing a backlash over his judgment in making Siddiq, who’s a close personal friend, amid suggestions he should have been more alert to the hazards of her family ties to Hasina who fled to India after being deposed.
Handing in her resignation, Siddiq said she had done nothing wrong. But she admitted that if she stayed on as a minister, it was "likely to be a distraction from the work of the government."
Starmer had appeared reluctant to dismiss her even though it had become obvious in the last few days that her position had become untenable. Starmer had made “ethical government” a central platform of his election campaign which brought him to power.
In addition to the charges that she had lived in homes belonging to individuals linked to the Awami League, her position was further weakened when she was named in two corruption probes in Bangladesh.
When the scandal broke, Siddiq reported herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards Sir Laurie Marcus, known as Britain’s “sleaze tsar.” He reported back to Starmer that he had “not identified evidence of improprieties” connected with Siddiq.
But the line that sealed Siddiq’s fate was straightforward: “You will want to consider her ongoing responsibilities in light of this,” Sir Laurie said.
"It is regrettable that she was not more alert to the potential reputational risks – both to her and the government – arising from her close family’s association with Bangladesh," Sir Laurie wrote in a letter to Starmer.
Sir Laurie added: "I would not advise this shortcoming to be taken as a breach of the ministerial code. But he added that, “A lack of records and lapse of time” meant that he was “not able to obtain comprehensive comfort in relation to all the UK property-related property matters.”
Starner’s independent adviser also revealed that Siddiq had been unable to produce conclusive evidence that the tax and funding arrangements for the houses she used that were connected to Hasina were “in order”.
Starmer greeted her resignation with emollient words. He said he was accepting her departure "with sadness,".but added that, "The door remains open for you going forward." This appears unlikely while her aunt and she remain under a cloud.
Besides the controversy about the London properties, Siddiq has also been accused of being involved in the Russia-backed Rooppur nuclear power station deal.
Bangladesh has alleged that irregularities worth $5 billion are involved in the deal. Siddiq had gone to Russia with Hasina and also been photographed with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the time. Bangladesh’s interim new government is investigating whether Siddiq helped broker the deal for the Russians to build the plant for an inflated price, allowing her family to extract money from the scheme. Siddiq has always insisted she went to Russia as a tourist and to spend time with her family.
In 2022, Siddiq threatened to sue journalists who questioned her purchase of her two-bedroom apartment. Sir Marcus remarked that Siddiq "remained under the impression" that the flat had been given to her by her parents.