UK anti-corruption minister resigns over ties to ousted Bangladesh PM

(Reuters)

LONDON, Jan 15 – The British minister responsible for financial services and fighting corruption resigned on Tuesday after weeks of questions over her financial ties to her aunt Sheikh Hasina, ousted last year as prime minister of Bangladesh.

Tulip Siddiq, 42, had repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and Prime Minister Keir Starmer said last week he had full confidence in her.

The resignation of a second government minister in two months is a blow to Starmer, whose approval ratings have plunged since his Labour Party won a general election in July.

Siddiq was handed the portfolio for financial services policy after the election, a role that included responsibility for measures against money-laundering.

In a letter to Starmer, Siddiq said she was resigning because her position was “likely to be a distraction from the work of the government”.

The government’s ethics adviser said in his letter to Starmer released at the same time that although Siddiq had not breached the ministerial code of conduct, he found it regrettable she was “not more alert to the potential reputational risks” from her family’s close association with Bangladesh.

“You will want to consider her ongoing responsibilities in the light of this,” he said.

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

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

The press office of Bangladesh’s interim government head, Muhammad Yunus, said in a statement that while Siddiq may not have fully understood the origins of certain assets she enjoyed in London, “she knows now and should seek forgiveness from the people of Bangladesh.”