Sheikh Hasina’s niece Tulip Siddiq resigns as UK Treasury minister amid graft claims

London: The niece of Bangladesh’s deposed former leader Sheikh Hasina, Labour Party MP Tulip Siddiq, on Tuesday resigned as Treasury minister to prevent her family connections becoming a “distraction” for the work of the British government.

Last week, the British Bangladeshi minister in charge of tackling corruption in the UK financial markets as Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister had referred herself to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests over allegations of corruption and a lack of transparency surrounding her use of properties in London.

In her resignation letter released by 10 Downing Street, Siddiq pointed out that the watchdog had not found her in breach of the Ministerial Code and noted that she had not “acted improperly”.

“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. 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 government… I have therefore decided to resign from my ministerial position,” reads Siddiq’s letter to Starmer.

The British Prime Minister responded by accepting her departure from his government “with sadness", and Labour MP Emma Reynolds was confirmed as Siddiq's replacement by Downing Street.

“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,” reads Starmer’s letter to Siddiq.

“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," he said.

"I want to thank you for self-referring to the Independent Adviser and for your full cooperation with the establishment of facts,” he added.

It comes after days of UK media reports around Siddiq's use of a north London flat given to her by her sister, Azmina, also a niece of Sheikh Hasina.

A second property in central London was also flagged as reportedly being given to the Labour MP for Hampstead and Highgate in north London by a businessman linked to Hasina’s Awami League political party.

Recent reports also claimed that she was among those named in an anti-corruption probe in Bangladesh over her family allegedly fraudulently obtaining plots in the diplomatic zone of a development near the country's capital Dhaka.  Siddiq, 42, had distanced herself from the flurry of claims emanating from Bangladesh and reiterated in her resignation letter that her “family connections are a matter of public record” which involved her following the advice of UK officials since she became minister.

“As you know, having conducted an in-depth review of the matter at my request, Sir Laurie has confirmed that I have not breached the Ministerial Code," Siddiq states in her resignation letter.

"As he notes, there is no evidence to suggest that I have acted improperly in relation to the properties I have owned or lived in, nor to suggest that any of my assets ‘derive from anything other than legitimate means’,” Siddiq states.

In response, Starmer praised her role in spearheading the rollout of Banking Hubs, leading the government’s thinking on financial inclusion, and contributing to the success of the UK Chancellor's first major economic speech following the Labour Party's victory in the July 2024 general election.

In his letter to the UK PM, Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests Laurie Magnus termed it as "regrettable" that Siddiq "was not more alert to the potential reputational risks" arising from her close family's association with Bangladesh.

While he asserted that this "shortcoming" should not be taken as a breach of the Ministerial Code, his advice to Starmer was that he may want to “consider her ongoing responsibilities in the light of this".

Opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, who had called for Siddiq's sacking, reacted: "It was clear at the weekend that the anti-corruption minister's position was completely untenable. Yet Keir Starmer dithered and delayed to protect his close friend.

"Even now, as Bangladesh files a criminal case against Tulip Siddiq, he expresses 'sadness' at her inevitable resignation. Weak leadership from a weak Prime Minister."