City minister Tulip Siddiq has left government after becoming embroiled in a corruption scandal. Meanwhile, Rachel Reeves has faced MPs for the first time since Number 10 guaranteed she would remain chancellor for this entire parliament.
Tuesday 14 January 2025 17:15, UK
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Anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq has resigned after controversy over links to her aunt’s ousted political movement in Bangladesh.
The Hampstead and Highgate MP is probably best known for campaigning for the release of her constituent, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was detained in Iran for six years.
The mother-of-two also hit the headlines in 2019 when she delayed having a C-section so she could vote against Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal, turning up to parliament heavily pregnant and in a wheelchair.
After giving birth she went on to make history by becoming the first MP to vote by proxy.
Ms Siddiq was first elected to parliament in 2015, in what was then the most marginal seat in the country, and before that served as a local councillor in Camden.
Our political reporter Faye Brown takes an in-depth look at Ms Siddiq’s career, and what has led to her resignation today…
The chancellor has come out fighting today amid a rough period for the UK economy – unfortunately for her, it wasn’t much later that one of her team quit.
Here are the main things you need to know:
Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge is live from 7pm.
We’ll bring you the full line-up once it’s confirmed.
Stay with us for more updates and analysis until then.
We’ve just had some reaction from Kemi Badenoch to Tulip Siddiq’s resignation as a Treasury minister.
The Tory leader wrote on X: “It was clear at the weekend that the anti-corruption minister’s position was completely untenable.
“Yet Keir Starmer dithered and delayed to protect his close friend.”
She continued: “Even now, as Bangladesh files a criminal case against Tulip Siddiq, he expresses ‘sadness’ at her inevitable resignation.
“Weak leadership from a weak prime minister,” she declared.
‘People expected better’
The Liberal Democrats have also given their reaction to the news, with their Cabinet Office spokesperson Sarah Olney saying in a statement that it is “right” that Ms Siddiq has resigned.
“You can’t have an anti-corruption minister mired in a corruption scandal,” she said.
“After years of Conservative sleaze and scandal, people rightly expected better from this government.”
Our business and economics correspondent Paul Kelso says it seems as though the former City minister Tulip Siddiq “knew what was coming” when she decided to pull out of a visit to China last week.
She was due to join the chancellor for the trade trip, but stayed at home.
By then it was clear the “winds were blowing against her”, says Paul.
Ultimately, “a foreign government conducting an investigation into the homes of one of your ministers, particularly when they have an anti-corruption role” isn’t a great look politically.
It made her position “very difficult to sustain”.
Tulip Siddiq, who has today resigned as a Treasury minister, referred herself to the prime minister’s ethics watchdog after allegations emerged about properties linked to her aunt, the ousted former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
It is alleged Ms Siddiq lived in properties linked to allies of Ms Hasina.
Ms Siddiq is also named with her aunt in Bangladesh court documents about meetings with the Russian government.
‘No suggestion’ of wrongdoing….
In a letter to the prime minister dated today, the independent adviser on ministerial standards, Sir Laurie Magnus, wrote he has “not identified evidence of improprieties” connected with Ms Siddiq.
He also said he has “found no suggestion of any unusual financial arrangements relating to Ms Siddiq’s ownership or occupation of the properties in question involving the Awami League (or its affiliated organisations) or the state of Bangladesh”.
“In addition, I have found no evidence to suggest that Ms Siddiq’s and/or her husband’s financial assets, as disclosed to me, derive from anything other than legitimate means,” he wrote.
….but not a great look
However, Sir Laurie noted the ministerial code states ministers “have a personal responsibility to identify perceived conflicts so that these can be understood and addressed”.
So while he found no breach of the ministerial code, he concluded it is “regrettable that she was not more alert to the potential reputational risks – both to her and the government – arising from her close family’s association with Bangladesh”.
As a result, he advised the PM to “consider her ongoing responsibilities in the light of this”.
A quick catch-up for you on the background behind this afternoon’s breaking story.
Tulip Siddiq has been under pressure over allegations about properties linked to her aunt Sheikh Hasina, who was deposed as Bangladesh’s prime minister in August.
Ms Siddiq referred herself to the prime minister’s ethics watchdog last week.
It is alleged that she lived in properties linked to allies of Ms Hasina, the deposed prime minister of Bangladesh.
Ms Siddiq previously insisted she had “done nothing wrong”, although Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called on Sir Keir Starmer to sack her over the weekend.
Ms Hasina was ousted from office in August following an uprising against her 20-year leadership and fled to India.
Ms Siddiq is also named with her aunt in Bangladesh court documents about meetings with the Russian government.
She had been due to join a delegation heading to China last week, but stayed in the UK to fight to clear her name.
Our deputy political editor Sam Coates says “pressure had been building” over links between Tulip Siddiq and her aunt Sheikh Hasina, who until last year was prime minister of Bangladesh.
“She was ousted in something of a coup – and since she left office there has been an anti-corruption investigation that’s still ongoing,” Sam adds.
“Some of the properties Tulip Siddiq lived in appeared to have links to her family and political party in Bangladesh.”
She insists she’s broken no rules, but the prospect of an anti-corruption minister having their properties looked into by overseas corruption officials means the “political reality” is that she had to leave her post.
Ms Siddiq is thought to be quite close to Sir Keir Starmer, and they represent neighbouring constituencies.
Embattled City minister Tulip Siddiq has resigned from the government, Downing Street has announced.
This comes after allegations emerged about properties linked to her aunt, the ousted former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
‘A distraction from government’
Ms Siddiq referred herself to the prime minister’s ethics watchdog after coming under increasing pressure over the allegations about properties linked to her aunt’s political movement.
It is alleged that she lived in properties linked to allies of Ms Hasina, the deposed prime minister of Bangladesh.
Ms Siddiq previously insisted she had “done nothing wrong”, although Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called on Sir Keir Starmer to sack her over the weekend.
In a letter to the prime minister today, Ms Siddiq said that while she had “not breached the ministerial code”, it is clear that continuing as a Treasury minister would be “a distraction from the work of the government”.
‘The door remains open,’ says PM
In his reply, Sir Keir Starmer said he has accepted her resignation “with sadness”, and added: “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.”
He praised her for making the “difficult decision” to resign nonetheless, and added that “the door remains open for you” going forward.
Downing Street has announced that Wycombe MP Emma Reynolds has been appointed to replace her in the Treasury, and Torsten Bell will take her previous role in the Department for Work and Pensions.
Sir Keir Starmer is currently holding talks with the Iraqi prime minister, who he has welcomed to Downing Street.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al Sudani and Sir Keir will announce a £12.3bn export package during the visit.
The export package is worth around 10 times last year’s trade between the UK and Iraq and will offer “huge opportunities” for British businesses, Sir Keir said in a release overnight.
He said he would also start talks with his counterpart on a “bespoke returns agreement” between the UK and Iraq.
Protesters could be heard shouting outside the gates as the Iraqi PM arrived, with one heard shouting: “Are you gambling with our lives?”
Inside No 10, Sir Keir told his counterpart it was a privilege to welcome him and that he hoped it would be the first of many visits.
Shadow housing minister David Simmonds responded to his ministerial counterpart on the Renters’ Rights Bill, and opened his remarks in a bipartisan spirit, saying debate had focused on the “real world impact” of the proposals rather than “political points”.
He explained Tory amendments seek to address “practical issues” within the bill, and argued the legislation in its current form “creates significant new concerns around the availability and affordability” of rented homes.
He pointed to the budget, saying it “sent inflation rising” – with “a great deal of uncertainty both for landlords and tenants”.
Cheeky dig at embattled minister
Mr Simmonds went on to say the government “granting refugee status faster” to asylum seekers is putting more pressure on local housing waiting lists and local authorities.
He also criticises restrictions on landlords’ abilities to “recover their property quickly when they need to, which reduces incentives for those to rent it out”.
In a dig at the embattled City minister Tulip Siddiq, he added that if she needs to “recover some of her property portfolio to return it to another owner, will she have the assurance under this bill that she has due process available to her?”
He also said there has not been a proper impact assessment of the bill, and said the Tories will try to force one to be conducted.
He sarcastically apologised to the minister “for the mess that this bill is creating” that he will have to deal with.
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