Downing Street weighs replacements for Tulip Siddiq amid ethics inquiry

SENIOR Labour officials are reportedly considering potential replacements for Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq amid an ethics investigation into her ties to Bangladesh’s ousted government.

Although prime minister Keir Starmer has publicly expressed full confidence in Siddiq, sources told The Times that some of his allies have informally discussed possible successors. A No 10 spokesperson dismissed claims of a formal shortlist as “completely untrue.”

Siddiq referred herself to Laurie Magnus, the independent adviser on ministers’ interests, over concerns about her connections to her aunt Sheikh Hasina’s former government in Bangladesh.

Hasina was ousted as prime minister in August following mass protests. Bangladesh’s central bank has requested Siddiq’s bank details as part of a financial crime probe, and the country’s anti-corruption commission is investigating allegations of embezzlement involving a Russian-funded nuclear project.

Candidates reportedly under consideration include Rachel Reeves’s aides Alistair Strathern and Imogen Walker, along with Callum Anderson, Kanishka Narayan, Josh Simons, and Rachel Blake, the newspaper reported. Attorney General Lucy Rigby and economist Torsten Bell are also seen as potential options.

Siddiq has faced mounting scrutiny after reports revealed she received a £700,000 London flat from a supporter of the Awami League, and her sister was gifted a £650,000 property by one of Hasina’s advisers. Siddiq’s spokesperson denied any political connection to these properties, calling the claims “categorically wrong.”

Addressing the investigation, Siddiq said: “I am clear that I have done nothing wrong. However, for the avoidance of doubt, I would like [Sir Laurie Magnus] to independently establish the facts about these matters.”

Further allegations emerged after British-trained lawyer Mir Ahmad bin Quasem, detained in Bangladesh in 2016, told The Times his family was threatened by Bangladeshi police after Siddiq was questioned by journalists about his case.

Siddiq said she had written to the Foreign Office on the matter but denied any involvement in subsequent actions by Bangladeshi authorities.

A spokesperson for Siddiq said: “No evidence has been presented for these allegations. Tulip has not been contacted by anyone on the matter and totally refutes the claims.”