When it rains for the Labour lot, it pours. Pressure is piling on Labour minister Tulip Siddiq to resign from her anti-corruption role as it now transpires the City minister has been named in a second Bangladesh corruption inquiry linked to her aunt’s corrupt regime. The UK Anti-Corruption Coalition has slammed Siddiq for remaining in post, insisting that the Labour MP ‘currently has a serious conflict of interests’. Oh dear.
As reported by the Times, Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission has claimed that Siddiq ‘reportedly used her influence and special powers’ to influence her aunt and former authoritarian premier of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina to allocate land to family members. Deputy director of the commission Muhammad Salahuddin claimed that the Labour anti-corruption minister found out that her aunt was using her power to allocate land plots – and intervened ‘to arrange similar allocations of plots in the same project’ in the names of family members.
This development is the latest in a series of negative news stories about the City minister. It comes after reports in December that Siddiq is also being investigated in an embezzlement probe, with the Labour MP alleged to have helped her aunt broker a deal with Russia in 2013 that overinflated the price of a nuclear power plant. Then in January, multiple reports about London properties gifted to Siddiq and her family by figures with links to her aunt’s regime raised eyebrows – prompting the Labour minister to refer herself to the government’s adviser on ministerial standards.
For her part, Siddiq has denied the claims made against her in both of the ACC’s probes, while her spokesperson insisted:
Tulip has self-reported to the independent adviser on ministerial standards to independently establish the facts on these matters. She is clear that she has done nothing wrong. It would be inappropriate to comment further while that process is ongoing.
Last month, Downing Street was adamant that the Prime Minister had confidence in his anti-corruption minister. Will this confidence will be shaken by yet another bout of bad press for Siddiq? Stay tuned…
Comments