TULIP Siddiq has quit as UK Treasury minister, Number 10 has confirmed.
Siddiq has been named in an investigation by Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) into her aunt, the country's former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was deposed last year.
On Monday, the ACC said it had filed a case against Hasina and her wider family over an alleged large-scale land grab of lucrative plots in a suburb of the capital, Dhaka. The case named the former prime minister as well as Siddiq.
The 42-year-old MP has referred herself to the PM's standards adviser and insists she has done nothing wrong.
She has since faced mounting calls to resign over her links to Hasina and it has now been confirmed she has left the UK Government.
Laurie Magnus, the independent adviser on ministerial standards, said in a letter to the Prime Minister that it was "regrettable" she was not "more alert to the potential reputational risks" arising from her close family’s association with Bangladesh.
He added: "I would not advise that this shortcoming should be taken as a breach of the ministerial code, but you will want to consider her ongoing responsibilities in the light of this."
However, Magnus also said he had “not identified evidence of improprieties” connected with Siddiq.
Siddiq said in a letter to the Prime Minister that she had not breached the ministerial code but that continuing in her role would be a “distraction”.
She said in her letter: “My family connections are a matter of public record and when I became a minister I provided full details of my relationships and private interests to the Government.
“After extensive consultation with officials, I was advised to state in my declaration of interests that my aunt is the former prime minister of Bangladesh and to recuse myself from matters relating to Bangladesh to avoid any perception of a conflict of interest.
An independent review has confirmed that I have not breached the Ministerial Code and there is no evidence to suggest I have acted improperly. Nonetheless, to avoid distraction for the Government, I have resigned as City Minister. Here is my full letter to the Prime Minister. pic.twitter.com/kZeWZfEsei
— Tulip Siddiq (@TulipSiddiq) January 14, 2025
“I want to assure you I acted and have continued to act with full transparency and on the advice of officials on these matters.
“However, it is clear that continuing in my role as Economic Secretary to the Treasury is likely to be a distraction from the work of the Government.”
In the police report detailing the alleged corruption, filed by the ACC deputy director, Mohammad Salahuddin, it said Siddiq “became aware” of a deal orchestrated by Hasina that allotted large plots of land in Dhaka to family members.
It alleged that, while serving as a UK member of parliament, Siddiq then “used her special influence and authority to pressure and influence her aunt, Ms Sheikh Hasina” to arrange similar land allocations for Siddiq’s mother, sister and brother. The evidence for these claims, it added, was “revealed from various sources”.
Siddiq has been accused of numerous links to Hasina’s corrupt regime, including reports she had lived in properties paid for by Hasina’s allies, and allegations still under investigation in Bangladesh that she and family members embezzled billions of dollars as part of a nuclear power plant deal with Russia.
This week, the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition, which includes organisations such as Oxfam, Transparency International and Spotlight on Corruption, said Siddiq “currently has a serious conflict of interests” and called for her to step aside from all aspects of her role involving economic crime, corruption or illegal finance.
Keir Starmer said the “door remains open” for Siddiq in his letter accepting her resignation.
He said: "In accepting your resignation, I also wish to be clear that Sir Laurie Magnus as independent adviser has assured me he found no breach of the ministerial code and no evidence of financial improprieties on your part. I want to thank you for self-referring to the independent adviser and for your full co-operation with the establishment of facts.
"I appreciate that to end ongoing distraction from delivering our agenda to change Britain, you have made a difficult decision and want to be clear that the door remains open for you going forward.”
