Tulip Siddiq spoke at some length to Sky News’ Rob Powell on her doorstep this morning. Her lawyers are once again calling for what they call the “smear campaign” against her in Bangladesh to be dropped…
Sky was provided with a new letter from Tulip’s lawyers to Bangladeshi authorities asking them to drop their investigations. Siddiq told Powell that Bangladesh’s “baseless campaign” involves the Anti-Corruption Commission sending letters to “random” addresses in Bangladesh which they claim are associated with her and not to London. Bangladeshi authorities say they sent letters to Tulip’s alleged address in Dhaka…
Siddiq’s line is to point out she is an MP in London:
“Let go of this political vendetta and let me do my job which is being the MP for Hampstead and Highgate.”
She said the months-long investigation (and issue of charges) into her, which is part of a wider investigation into Sheikh Hasina and her family, is an “absolute waste of time and money… I will not be allowing them to drag me into their world of dirty politics.“ Siddiq denies all allegations against her…
When Siddiq was asked if she “would ever consider going to Bangladesh to try to clear your name and clear things up” the MP declined to answer. She instead claimed she wanted to show interim leader Muhammad Yunus what she showed Starmer’s ethics adviser Laurie Magnus along with “all her bank statements” when Yunus was in London recently. Unfortunately the Bangladesh ACC’s charges do not relate to the information collected and judged by Magnus in his “fact-finding mission” earlier this year…
Siddiq also declined to say she has any regret about “previous links or statements about the Awami League at all.” To that Tulip said: “I’m very proud to be the MP for Hampstead & Highgate.” Co-conspirators can make up their own minds…
Interim leader of Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus is approaching the end of his four-day UK tour. He’s been busy meeting everyone apart from Starmer…
Yunus even had a 30-minute private audience with King Charles yesterday:
“The two discussed Bangladesh’s reform agenda and the country’s ongoing democratic transition — key priorities for the interim government that assumed office following an uprising in August 2024.”
Yunus received the prestigious King Charles Harmony Award, which was last year given to former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. He was given a signed photograph of Charles and Camilla as a personal gift…
A dinner held at St James’ Palace was attended by David Beckham, who was photographed talking to Yunus. Also in attendance: Meryl Streep, Kate Winslet, Stanley Tucci, Rod Stewart, Alan Titchmarsh…
He has met with Lindsay Hoyle in Speaker’s House for an official visit. His meeting with the government was with…. Jonathan Reynolds. In Parliament…
Guido revealed earlier this week that Starmer had refused to meet Yunus over his fears with regard to the live Tulip Siddiq situation. Siddiq for her part denies all wrongdoing. A series of excuses were given to the Bangladeshis…
Yunus’ representatives said earlier in the week: “What we know is that he is probably in Canada….. visiting Canada. A British parliamentarian came today and told us that he (Keir Starmer) is in Canada.“ Hilariously this time Starmer can’t use his jet-setting as an excuse – he is in Downing Street hosting Cobra meetings today and won’t leave for the G7 until the weekend. What’s he scared of?
The National Crime Agency is freezing further assets in its wide investigation into allies of deposed Bangladesh dictator Sheikh Hasina. It has confirmed this afternoon that 342 properties with a purchase cost of £185 million have been frozen after approval from the High Court…
The new raft of properties are linked to the former Bangladesh land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury – a close ally of Sheikh Hasina. Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus is in London and met with NCA officials yesterday along with Ahsan Mansur, head of the asset recovery task force, and anti-corruption commission chief Abdul Momen. The same Anti-Corruption Commission which has lodged charges against UK MP Tulip Siddiq…
Mansur said British co-operation from the NCA has been extensive:
“I must say the progress on the British front is very encouraging for us… They have good sources of information, and we are also supporting their actions . . . we are hopeful that more actions will be taken by the British authorities.”
NCA officials have travelled to Dhaka to help with early investigations. The Foreign Office is also working closely with the Bangladeshi government. Which makes it all the more bizarre that Starmer is refusing to meet the country’s leader in London this week…
The FT has followed Guido’s revelations earlier this week that Starmer has swerved a meeting with Yunus. Political sources say this is due to intense nervousness about the Tulip Siddiq situation. Siddiq for her part denies any wrongdoing and asked to meet Yunus, who refused. Yunus said: “We need the support from the people of Great Britain.” That Starmer has refused any meeting with Yunus despite the two governments working so closely is a diplomatic incident…
Guido pointed out this morning that the UK government has been strangely quiet on a mooted meeting with Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus. Yunus is in the UK this week: 9 – 13 June and Bangladeshi officials said a face-to-face with the PM would take place. Guido hears Starmer will not in fact meet him…
Yunus is meeting King Charles – whom he knows well – to receive the prestigious “Harmony Award 2025” at St James’s Palace on Thursday. It is extremely irregular for a meeting with our PM to be swerved on the UK side…
When Yunus entered power as interim leader last year this is what the UK government said:
“UK government warmly welcomes the appointment of H.E Professor Yunus and the interim government. The interim government has the UK’s full support as it works to restore peace and order, ensure accountability and promote national reconciliation.”
Starmer said as much in a letter to Yunus. Why then are they not meeting?
Recent internal political chatter has been focussed on intense nervousness with regard to any meeting mentioning Tulip Siddiq. Yunus has previously discussed a possible extradition of Siddiq, who is facing charges in Bangladesh…
Siddiq herself denies all wrongdoing. The Awami League party of Tulip’s aunt the ousted dictator Sheikh Hasina has written to Downing Street to express their displeasure at reports a meeting was on the cards. Starmer met with senior Awami League figures just months ago. This ongoing scandal raises extremely serious implications for the UK’s ability to conduct international diplomacy effectively…
Matters are coming to a head this week as Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus visits London to receive an award and – according to Bangladeshi officials – speak with Keir Starmer. The UK side has been strangely quiet about the upcoming meeting sought by Yunus, suggesting there is nervousness in Downing Street about what might be brought up…
Last week Yunus said he would raise Bangladesh’s efforts to recover funds allegedly embezzled by Awami League figures in Sheikh Hasina’s regime and stored in assets abroad. Former anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq has also put herself on the agenda this weekend…
In a letter to Yunus which was briefed to The Guardian Siddiq requests a meeting with Bangladesh’s leader in order to “help clear up the misunderstanding perpetuated by the anti-corruption committee in Dhaka that I have questions to answer in relation to my mother’s sister, the former prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina.” Siddiq promoted her enthusiasm to clear matters on an X post with the comments turned off…
Tulip and her lawyers have always denied all wrongdoing and she adds in the letter: “I have no property nor any business interests whatsoever in Bangladesh. The country is dear to my heart but it is not the country where I was born, live in or have built my career in.” Meanwhile over the weekend the Anti-Corruption Commission in Bangladesh said it had seized 87 pages of tax returns filed in the country by Siddiq which “cover the assessment years 2006–07 to 2018–19″…
The Awami League party of Tulip’s aunt Sheikh Hasina is protesting the visit, telling Downing Street “that any formal meeting lends legitimacy to an unelected and unconstitutional administration.” As revealed on these pixels Starmer has hobnobbed with senior Awami League staff – including Hasina – for years and was seen doing so as recently as December…
Yunus’ office for its part says it never received that letter from Tulip and therefore “we cannot comment on something we have not seen.” If Starmer actually meets with Yunus the pair has the opportunity to discuss the case in detail…
Interim leader of Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus told journalists today he will visit the UK next week from 10 to 13 June. He’s set to receive an award from the King…
Yunus will also hold bilateral talks with Keir Starmer on his visit to London. He has specified that at the top of his list are Bangladesh’s efforts to recover funds allegedly embezzled by Awami League figures in Sheikh Hasina’s regime and stored in assets abroad. The UK National Crime Agency has frozen around £90 million worth of London properties linked to that regime, including one which was according to the electoral register occupied by Tulip Siddiq’s mother…
The leader has recently discussed the possibility of extraditing Tulip Siddiq in order for her to face charges brought against her by the country’s Anti-Corruption Commission, which is investigating claims that Siddiq and four Hasina family members embezzled £4 billion in a nuclear plant deal. Other charges relate to allegedly corrupt property handovers. For her part, she strenuously denies any and all wrongdoing, as have her lawyers. Things could get awkward for Starmer during this meeting…
Any decision to extradite Siddiq would have to be approved personally by Yvette Cooper after a formal request from Bangladesh. Which says it is considering asking Interpol to issue a ‘red notice’ for Tulip…
Bangladeshi authorities say that wider “discussions with the UK government will be initiated during the chief adviser’s visit to seek cooperation on money recovery.” Bangladesh’s government is intensely focussed on this issue and expects action from the PM…
Former leader of the SNP in Westminster Ian Blackford told Times Radio why he believes Nicola Sturgeon’s claim that she spent no time in the kitchen and therefore didn’t see any of her husband’s purchases:
“She doesn’t have a passion for cooking.”
