Tulip Siddiq has resigned as Treasury minister over allegations linked to her aunt’s political movement in Bangladesh.
Ms Siddiq’s aunt is the former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled into exile after being deposed last year and is facing an investigation by an anti-corruption commission in Bangladesh, with Ms Siddiq reportedly named as part of the case.
Ms Siddiq has also come under intense scrutiny over her use of properties in London linked to her aunt’s allies.
The Hampstead and Highgate MP said in a letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer that she had not breached the ministerial code but that continuing in her role would be a “distraction”.
Sir Keir said he accepted her resignation “with sadness” and said she had made a “difficult decision” and that he wanted “to be clear that the door remains open for you going forward”.
She had referred herself to the Prime Minister’s ethics tsar, Sir Laurie Magnus, who said he had not found any breach of the ministerial code but advised that Sir Keir reconsider her responsibilities.
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
The UK Anti-Corruption Coalition had called for Ms Siddiq to pass responsibilities for countering economic crime, money laundering and illicit finance to another minister.
The coalition – a group of the UK’s leading anti-corruption organisations – said she had a “serious conflict of interests” regardless of whether Sir Laurie found she had breached the ministerial code.
Sir Laurie, the independent advisor on ministerial standards, reviewed her financial affairs and the background of properties she owns or has occupied and said he had found no evidence of any “improprieties” in Ms Siddiq’s actions.
He 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.
“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.”
