INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A senior Treasury minister has actually referred herself to the ministerial standards watchdog after days of allegations that she has
resided in multiple residential or commercial properties tied to the ousted Bangladeshi government.Tulip Siddiq, the City and
anti-corruption minister, has actually asked Laurie Magnus, the prime ministers independent consultant on ministerial requirements, to
examine whether she might have broken the ministerial code.Her demand followed it was revealed that Siddiq had lived in multiple residential
or commercial properties linked to her aunt Sheikh Hasina
Hasina recently resigned as Bangladeshs prime minister after a popular uprising.Siddiq composed to Magnus: In recent weeks I have actually
been the topic of media reporting, much of it unreliable, about my monetary affairs and my households links to the former government of
Bangladesh.I am clear that I have actually not done anything wrong
However, for the avoidance of doubt, I would like you to individually develop the realities about these matters.Labour authorities stated
Siddiq would not travel with a Treasury delegation led by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to China this week as planned, and would instead
stay behind to help with inquiries.Siddiq is under pressure over her tenancy of numerous properties, including a two-bedroom flat near Kings
Cross and a different home in Hampstead.The Financial Times revealed on Friday that the Kings Cross flat was bought in 2001 for 195,000 by
Abdul Motalif, a designer with links to members of Hasinas party, the Awami League
Siddiq became the owner of that flat in 2004 without paying for it.The Mail on Sunday stated Siddiq had formerly informed its press
reporters that the flat had been purchased by her moms and dads and offered to her as a present, prompting allegations she had actually
misguided the newspaper.The Sunday Times then reported that she had lived in the different Hampstead home after it had actually been
purchased by Moin Ghani, an attorney who represented Hasinas federal government, and moved to Siddiqs sister.Siddiq is likewise renting a
2.1 m home in East Finchley owned by Abdul Karim, an executive member of the UK wing of the Awami League.Siddiqs connections to her aunts
celebration have triggered her political issues in the past, including in 2017, when she refused to respond to concerns about Ahmad bin
Quasem, a British-trained lawyer in prison in Bangladesh.She insisted at the time she had nothing to do with her aunties government, saying:
Im a Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn, Im a British member of parliament.Be very careful
Im not Bangladeshi and the individual you are discussing, I have no idea about their case.Hasina was the worlds longest-serving female
leader, however was criticised for crushing political dissent and two times battled elections that were boycotted by the primary opposition
celebration, the Bangladesh Nationalist party.Last year she was forced to resign after extensive student-led protests versus her government
Those protests, along with the violent security reaction to them that Hasina managed, caused about 300 deaths.Hasina fled the nation she had
actually led because 2009 by helicopter after protesters stormed her palace in the capital, Dhaka.So far Siddiq has continued to delight in
Keir Starmers self-confidence even amidst the discoveries about her residential or commercial properties and links to senior figures in the
Awami League.Starmer said on Monday: Tulip Siddiq has acted entirely appropriately by referring herself to the independent advisor, as shes
now done, and thats why we generated the brand-new code.Its to permit ministers to ask the adviser to develop the facts
And yes, Ive got confidence in her, and thats the procedure that will now be happening
This post very first appeared/also appeared in theguardian.com
