Treasury minister Siddiq quits after ethics investigation
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Tulip Siddiq quit as a Treasury minister after the ministerial standards watchdog said it was “regrettable” she was “not more alert” to the reputational risk caused by her links 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 the Labour MP reportedly named as part of the case.
Ms Siddiq – who as City minister had responsibility for tackling financial corruption – has also come under intense scrutiny over her use of properties in London linked to her aunt’s allies. In her resignation letter the Hampstead and Highgate MP, a parliamentary neighbour of the Prime Minister, told 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.
After a “fact-finding” exercise, Sir Laurie told the Prime Minister: “Given the nature of Ms Siddiq’s ministerial responsibilities, which include the promotion of the UK financial services sector and the inherent probity of its regulatory framework as a core component of the UK economy and its growth, 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.
