Former minister Tulip Siddiq has stated there’s “no evidence” she has finished something fallacious after Bangladesh issued a warrant for her arrest.
Ms Siddiq informed reporters exterior her dwelling that she is the “victim of a politically motivated smear campaign”.
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Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Fee (ACC) sought the warrant over allegations Ms Siddiq obtained a 7,200sq ft plot of land within the nation’s capital, Dhaka.
On Monday, Ms Siddiq stated nobody from the Bangladeshi authorities has contacted her and stated she was dealing with a “trial by media”.
“I can’t dignify this politically motivated smear campaign with any comment,” she stated, alleging authorities are “trying to harass me”.
There may be “no evidence I’ve done anything wrong”, she added.
Ms Siddiq is the niece of Bangladesh’s former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was deposed final summer season following an rebellion towards her 20-year management.
Picture:
Sheikh Hasina pictured in 2023. Pic: AP/ Yomiuri Shimbun
The Labour MP resigned as a Treasury minister earlier this 12 months following an investigation by the prime minister’s ethics adviser into her hyperlinks to her aunt’s Awami League administration, which is dealing with corruption allegations in Bangladesh.
Ms Siddiq was not discovered to have breached the ministerial code.
Nevertheless, the prime minister’s ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus stated it was “regrettable” she was no more “alert to the potential reputational risks” arising from her shut household’s affiliation with Bangladesh.
On the time, Sir Keir Starmer praised Ms Siddiq for making the “difficult decision” to resign and stated “the door remains open for you” going ahead.
Requested if there may very well be a manner again for her following the newest developments, the prime minister’s official spokesman in the present day stated: “We don’t comment on individual legal cases.”
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Tulip Siddiq’s attorneys ‘are prepared’
Ms Siddiq has been an MP since 2015 and might be greatest recognized for campaigning for the discharge of her constituent Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe, who was detained in Iran for six years.
She got here below strain over her hyperlinks to her aunt firstly of the 12 months however has constantly denied wrongdoing.
Ms Siddiq has additionally confronted questions over properties in London she has lived in or lives through which are allegedly linked to her aunt’s allies.
A Conservative Get together spokesman stated Ms Siddiq “should immediately stand down as a Labour MP” if she is the topic of an arrest warrant in Bangladesh.
