Calls are growing for MP Tulip Siddiq to be sacked over alleged property deals tied to her aunt and ousted Bangladesh leader Sheikh Hasina. PA
Calls are growing for MP Tulip Siddiq to be sacked over alleged property deals tied to her aunt and ousted Bangladesh leader Sheikh Hasina. PA
Calls are growing for MP Tulip Siddiq to be sacked over alleged property deals tied to her aunt and ousted Bangladesh leader Sheikh Hasina. PA
Calls are growing for MP Tulip Siddiq to be sacked over alleged property deals tied to her aunt and ousted Bangladesh leader Sheikh Hasina. PA

Calls grow for sacking of British minister linked to former Bangladesh leader


Thomas Harding
  • English
  • Arabic

Calls are growing for Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer to sack his anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq over properties she allegedly received through her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, the ousted Bangladesh leader.

The predominantly Muslim country’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus said that Ms Siddiq and her family should return homes if they were bought after “plain robbery” by the former government.

He wants the London properties to be part of an inquiry into alleged fraud by members of the previous Bangladesh government overthrown last summer.

Mr Yunus, a Nobel peace prize-winning economist, has also urged Ms Siddiq to apologise for the actions of her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, who is accused of widespread corruption and humanitarian crimes.

Ms Siddiq, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury and a friend of Mr Starmer, referred herself to investigation by the prime minister’s adviser on ethics last week. She also claims that she is a victim of trumped-up allegations.

But speaking from the capital Dhaka, Mr Yunus told The Sunday Times that if a British politician was caught-up in wrongdoing it was “a big deal”.

“If a UK parliament member is involved, definitely it’s a big issue … we got used to [Ms Hasina’s] taking away everything.”

A vandalised image of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. EPA
A vandalised image of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. EPA

The newspaper’s investigation also discovered that Ms Siddiq spent years living in a north London property purchased by an offshore company named in the leaked Panama Papers and connected to two Bangladeshi businessmen.

Ms Siddiq strongly denies benefitting from the purchase which is now being investigated by Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

An official report has disclosed that the elite around Ms Hasina removed billions of dollars from Bangladesh using some of the cash to purchase London properties.

Britain’s National Crime Agency, the equivalent to the FBI, has sent investigators to Bangladesh and could seek to freeze assets in the UK.

In reference to the properties used by members of Ms Hasina’s family in London, Mr Yunus said: “Absolutely, it’s about plain robbery. Nothing else.”

Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus. EPA
Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus. EPA

While the leader said it was not his place to call for Ms Siddiq’s resignation, Britain’s Conservative party opposition leader Kemi Badenoch said that a diplomatic crisis could develop if she was not removed. “The prime minister’s weak leadership on Siddiq suggests he is not as bothered by integrity as he claims,” she added.

It had also been reported that the politician took free hospitality during the 2019 cricket world cup from a person closely linked to her aunt.

In her register of MP’s interests, Ms Siddiq, 42, watched Bangladesh play New Zealand and Pakistan with her box tickets costing £358.80 ($445), including lunch.

Ms Siddiq’s ministerial post has come under further pressure after Bangladesh’s Financial Intelligence Unit demanded that banks provide them details of all transactions of accounts linked to her.

While Mr Starmer has said that he would await the findings of his ethics adviser it is understood that Downing Street is considering a replacement for Ms Siddiq, whose responsibilities include “countering economic crime, money laundering and illicit finance”.

Ms Hasina, who served a total of 20 years as Bangladesh’s prime minister, is currently in India after she fled the country in August last year following mass riots over police killings of civilians.

Key recommendations
  • Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
  • Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
  • Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
  • More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
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1) More than 300 in-house cleaning crew

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About Karol Nawrocki

• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.

• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.

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MATCH INFO

Barcelona 2
Suarez (10'), Messi (52')

Real Madrid 2
Ronaldo (14'), Bale (72')

Indoor cricket in a nutshell

Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai

16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side

8 There are eight players per team

There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.

5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls

Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership

Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.

Zones

A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs

B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run

Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs

Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Updated: January 12, 2025, 2:38 PM`