No 10 accused of having a ‘revolving door’ after new Treasury minister embroiled in China row
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Emma Reynolds, who replaces Tulip Siddiq, pressed government over foreign influence rules in job at lobbyist. No 10 has been accused of having a “revolving door” after it refused to say whether the new Treasury minister Emma Reynolds would recuse herself from policy on China after she lobbied the government on the issue.
Reynolds, who worked as managing director for TheCityUK, a lobby group for banks and other financial services companies, had previously pressed the government to make China exempt from the strictest tier of rules on registration of foreign influence. Reynolds replaced Tulip Siddiq as the City and anti-corruption minister. Siddiq had resigned on Tuesday over a furore about her use of properties linked to allies of her aunt, the ousted prime minister of Bangladesh.
Downing Street repeatedly refused to say whether Reynolds would recuse herself from future decisions involving the scheme, despite her previous work for financial services firms in relation to China. Keir Starmer’s official spokesperson said the new City minister “brings a wealth of experience to the role”, adding: “When it comes to the process for the ministerial appointments, that will be followed in the usual way.”.
Starmer said on Wednesday that he accepted Siddiq’s resignation “with sadness” and that it had been found that there was “no breach of the code” for ministers but said he wanted “to be clear that the door remains open for you going forward”.
“She knows that he found there was no wrongdoing, and the former minister fully cooperated. She referred herself a week ago on Monday; I got the report yesterday; and she resigned yesterday afternoon,” the prime minister said in the House of Commons.
