If Keir Starmer meets Bangladesh’s interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, as planned at Downing Street this week, their agenda will likely include the country’s transition to democratic elections, scheduled for April next year, as well as how the Labour government might assist in recovering stolen Bangladeshi assets.
Siddiq wrote to Yunus inviting him for “lunch or afternoon tea” at the Houses of Parliament
But the unspoken tension in the room will be Labour MP and former minister Tulip Siddiq – niece of deposed Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Hasina fled the country on 5 August 2024 following a violent state crackdown on student-led protests, in which over 800 people have been confirmed killed by law enforcement authorities.
In January 2025, Siddiq resigned from her ministerial role following reports over her political and financial ties to the Awami League, her aunt’s now-toppled authoritarian party. Since then, Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has launched investigations into her alleged involvement in a multi-billion pound nuclear energy deal.
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