Tulip resigns over financial link with Hasina
Tulip Siddiq, the UK Treasury minister, has resigned following scrutiny over her financial connections to the ousted Bangladeshi government led by her aunt, Sheikh Hasina.
Although Laurie Magnus, the UK Prime Minister's adviser on ministerial standards, found no rule violations by Siddiq, he raised concerns about her failure to anticipate the reputational risks linked to her family’s ties to Bangladesh. In his recommendation to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Magnus suggested Siddiq’s position warranted reconsideration.
Announcing her resignation on Tuesday, Siddiq stated she had fully disclosed all her financial interests and relationships but acknowledged that the situation had become a distraction for the government.
“While the independent adviser has shown I acted properly, it’s clear my continued role as economic secretary to the Treasury could detract from the government’s work,” Siddiq wrote in her resignation letter. “My loyalty remains with this Labour government and its transformative agenda. I will continue to support its mission from the backbenches.”
Starmer accepted Siddiq’s resignation “with sadness” and emphasized that Magnus’s findings cleared her of any financial impropriety or breach of the ministerial code. He added, “I respect your decision to step down to avoid distractions, but the door remains open for your return in the future.”
Siddiq’s resignation marks the second high-profile departure of a senior woman from Starmer’s administration over ethical concerns. Last year, Louise Haigh stepped down as Transport Secretary after a past conviction for fraud was revealed.
Siddiq’s resignation follows revelations about her occupancy of properties linked to associates of her aunt’s government. Among these were a two-bedroom flat near King’s Cross and a Hampstead property owned by individuals tied to the former Bangladeshi regime.
Emma Reynolds, a minister in the Department for Work and Pensions and a former financial services lobbyist with City UK, will succeed Siddiq as City Minister. Torsten Bell, a newly elected MP and former head of the Resolution Foundation, will take over Reynolds’s previous role as pensions minister.