LONDON:
Britain’s minister for financial services and anti-corruption resigned 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, has 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 for Starmer, whose popularity ratings have plummeted since his Labor Party won the general election in July.
Siddiq was given the financial services policy portfolio after the election, a role which included responsibility for anti-money laundering measures.
In a statement, Siddiq said that while an investigation into her financial affairs found she had not breached the ministerial code of conduct, her position was “likely to distract from the work of government”. “So I decided to resign from my ministerial post,” she said. Starmer quickly appointed Emma Reynolds, who was pensions minister, to Siddiq’s position.
Hasina, who has ruled Bangladesh since 2009, is under investigation there on suspicion of corruption and money laundering. Hasina and her party deny any wrongdoing. Siddiq was named in December as part of the investigation in Bangladesh into whether her family was involved in the embezzlement of funds intended for infrastructure projects in Bangladesh.
