UK anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq quits amid Bangladesh probe, Emma Reynolds named successor

UK’s anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq resigned on Tuesday following weeks of scrutiny regarding her financial connections to her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted as prime minister of Bangladesh last year.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, meanwhile, swiftly appointed Emma Reynolds, who was a pensions minister, to Siddiq’s role.

Reynolds, 47, was elected to office at the 2024 national election, which saw the Labour Party regain power after 14 years in opposition.

She currently represents the Wycombe constituency in southern England and previously served as a lawmaker for a different seat in central England between 2010 and 2019.

In her resignation letter to Starmer, Siddiq said the independent adviser on ministerial standards, Laurie Magnus, confirmed that she had not breached ministerial rules after reviewing the matter.

Siddiq repeated that she had done nothing wrong but said continuing in office would likely “be a distraction from the work of the government”.

“I have therefore decided to resign from my ministerial position,” Reuters quoted her as saying.

Starmer said in a letter to Siddiq published by his office: “In accepting your resignation, I also wish to be clear that Sir Laurie Magnus as Independent Adviser has assured me he found no breach of the Ministerial Code and no evidence of financial improprieties on your part.”

Siddiq, 42, had consistently denied any wrongdoing, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed full confidence in her last week.

Her resignation marks the second departure of a government minister in two months, dealing a setback to Starmer, whose approval ratings have significantly declined since his Labour Party won the general election in July.

Following the election, Siddiq was assigned the role of overseeing financial services policy, which included responsibilities related to anti-money laundering measures.

Hasina, who had ruled Bangladesh since 2009, is being investigated there on suspicion of corruption and money laundering. Hasina and her party deny wrongdoing.

Siddiq was named in December as part of Bangladesh’s investigation into whether her family were involved in siphoning off funds from Bangladeshi infrastructure projects.

The anti-corruption commission alleged financial irregularities worth billions of dollars in the awarding of a $12.65 billion nuclear power contract, saying Hasina and Siddiq may have benefited.

After facing further scrutiny over the use of properties in Britain linked to Hasina and her supporters, Siddiq referred herself to the government’s independent ethics adviser.

Siddiq lived in a north London property given to her family in 2009 by Moin Ghani, a Bangladeshi lawyer who has represented Hasina’s government, documents filed with Companies House and the Land Registry show.

She also acquired a separate property in London in 2004, without paying for it, from a developer linked to the Awami League, Hasina’s political party, the Financial Times reported this month.

Hasina fled Bangladesh after being toppled following weeks of protests.

Siddiq’s departure follows the resignation of British transport minister Louise Haigh late last year. Haigh acknowledged a minor criminal offence before she entered government, relating to a mobile phone that she had wrongly reported stolen.