Kemi Badenoch calls for Tulip Siddiq to be sacked

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has called for the Prime Minister to sack Treasury Minister Tulip Siddiq, after Siddiq became embroiled in an investigation alleging her family siphoned up to £3.9 billion from infrastructure spending in Bangladesh. Badenoch posted on social media platform X that “it’s time for Keir Starmer to sack Tulip Siddiq,” adding that the Prime Minister “appointed his personal friend as an anti-corruption minister, and she herself is accused of corruption.”

Earlier, Bangladesh’s new leader, Mohammed Yunus, told the Sunday Times that Siddiq should apologize after reports that she had resided in London properties linked to her aunt, Sheikh Hasina. Sheikh Hasina was ousted from her position as Prime Minister of Bangladesh last year and is now at the center of a corruption investigation. Siddiq has proactively reported the matter to the Prime Minister’s standards adviser and insists she has done nothing wrong.

In a letter to the government’s ethics watchdog, Sir Laurie Magnus, Siddiq stated, “I am clear that I have done nothing wrong.” Downing Street has previously confirmed that Sir Laurie will conduct a “fact-finding exercise” to determine whether “further action” is required, including a further investigation. Badenoch stated that Siddiq has become a “distraction at a time when the government should be focused on fixing the financial mess it has created.” She also added: “There are now serious concerns being raised by the government of Bangladesh about her relationship with the Sheikh Hasina regime.”

In his interview with the Sunday Times, the Bangladeshi leader said that the properties used by Siddiq should be investigated and, if they were obtained through “blatant robbery,” they should be returned to his government. Siddiq is the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, responsible for tackling economic crime, money laundering, and illicit finance. These allegations are part of a wider investigation by the Bangladesh Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) into Hasina. Hasina ruled Bangladesh for more than 20 years and was considered an autocrat, with her government brutally suppressing dissent.

Having fled the country, Sheikh Hasina has been accused of multiple offenses by the new Bangladeshi government. In her letter to Sir Laurie Magnus, Siddiq stated: “In recent weeks I have been the subject of media reports, many of which are inaccurate, regarding my financial affairs and the connections my family has with the former government in Bangladesh.” She added: “I am clear that I have done nothing wrong, but in order to avoid any doubt, I would like you to independently establish the facts of these matters.” Meanwhile, Keir Starmer told reporters he had confidence in his minister, adding that Siddiq had acted “entirely appropriately” by proactively requesting an investigation.