Treasury chief says he would welcome Tulip Siddiq’s return as minister
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Darren Jones ‘very happy’ to work with Siddiq in future despite criticism over her links to Bangladesh. The chief secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, has said he would be “very happy” if Tulip Siddiq returned as a minister despite criticisms of her by the government’s adviser on ministerial standards over her family ties to the ousted regime in Bangladesh.
On Tuesday, Siddiq resigned as minister for the City and anti-corruption after accepting that allegations of corruption linked to her aunt Sheikh Hasina, the deposed prime minister of Bangladesh, had become a distraction. An investigation by the standards adviser, Laurie Magnus, found Siddiq had not breached the ministerial code in her use of properties given to her and family by allies of Hasina’s regime.
He did say, however, that Siddiq should have been more alert to the potential reputational risks arising from her family’s close ties with Bangladesh after finding incomplete records on her UK properties. Siddiq resigned after Magnus suggested the prime minister would want to consider her responsibilities.
Keir Starmer accepted her resignation, but in a letter to her he said the “door remains open for you going forward”. Speaking to Sky News, Jones said Siddiq’s future was a matter for the prime minister, but added: “Tulip did a great job as City minister. She hasn’t broken any rules. The prime minister was clear in his letter to Tulip that he would like to see a circumstance in which she can come back into government in the future.
