Labour MP Tulip Siddiq is accused of threatening a pregnant Channel 4 News reporter this weekend as they reported on her connections to Bangladesh’s repressive government. Siddiq has barely been off the airwaves scoring political points about the Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe affair, yet she has said nothing about another prisoner, a British-trained barrister called Ahmad bin Quasem. Human rights groups say he was was abducted in Bangladesh by government agents. Siddiq’s aunt is Bangladesh’s controversial Prime Minister Shekih Hasina – it’s said a phone call from Siddiq could free Ahmad. When Channel 4 News confronted her over this, things didn’t go well…

Siddiq refused to answer questions and repeatedly said to reporter Alex Thomson: “be very careful”. She then said to a pregnant Channel 4 producer:

“Hope you have a great birth, because child labour is hard”.

Channel 4 has complained to Labour about this remark, which it said was “an apparently threatening comment”. Siddiq is clearly spooked – she has reported Channel 4 to the police, which definitely doesn’t make her look guilty at all. Extraordinary malice, implying Alex Thomson was racist, menacing comment to pregnant producer, thuggish behaviour from aide… Not really behaviour becoming of a member of the Women and Equalities select committee…