LONDON: Labour Party MP Tulip Siddiq, the niece of Bangladesh’s deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, has denied any wrongdoing after reports emerged of an arrest warrant issued by Dhaka’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). Siddiq resigned as UK treasury minister in January this year, saying her family connections were becoming a “distraction” for the work of Prime Minister Keir Starmer-led government.
Her spokesperson in a statement over the weekend said the allegations of corruption against Siddiq were “completely false” and her lawyers had dealt with that. “The ACC has made various allegations against Ms Siddiq through the media in the last few months. The allegations are completely false and have been dealt with in writing by Ms Siddiq’s lawyers,” the spokesperson said.
“The ACC has not responded to Ms Siddiq or put any allegations to her directly or through her lawyers. Ms Siddiq knows nothing about a hearing in Dhaka relating to her and has no knowledge of any arrest warrant that is said to have been issued,” the statement said. Addressing the specific claims, the spokesperson stressed there was “no basis at all” for any charges to be made against London-based Siddiq, and there was “absolutely no truth” in any allegation that she received a plot of land in Dhaka through illegal means.
“She has never had a plot of land in Bangladesh and has never influenced any allocation of plots of land to her family members or anyone else. No evidence has been provided by the ACC to support this or any other allegation made against Ms Siddiq. It is clear to us that the charges are politically motivated,” the spokesperson said.
The 42-year-old Labour MP for Hampstead and Highgate in north London attempted to distance herself from the flurry of allegations emanating from Bangladesh and reiterated in her resignation letter that her “family connections are a matter of public record”. In the letter released by 10 Downing Street back in January, Siddiq pointed out that Starmer’s independent adviser on ministers’ interests had not found her in breach of the ministerial code and asserted that she had not “acted improperly”.
In response, Starmer praised her role in spearheading the rollout of Banking Hubs and leading the government’s thinking on financial inclusion in her junior ministerial role as Economic Secretary to the Treasury. As there is no formal extradition treaty between the UK and Bangladesh, further steps following reports of the Bangladeshi arrest warrant remain unclear.
