LONDON: The British minister responsible for financial services and fighting corruption resigned on Tuesday after weeks of questions over her financial ties to her aunt Sheikh Hasina, ousted last year as prime minister of Bangladesh.
Tulip Siddiq, 42, had repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and Prime Minister Keir Starmer said last week he had full confidence in her.
The resignation of a second government minister in two months is a blow to Starmer, whose approval ratings have plunged since his Labour Party won a general election in July.
Siddiq was handed the portfolio for financial services policy after the election, a role that included responsibility for measures against money-laundering.
In a statement, Siddiq said although an investigation into her financial affairs found she had not breached the ministerial code of conduct, her position was “likely to be a distraction from the work of the government.”
“I have therefore decided to resign from my ministerial position,” she said.
Starmer swiftly appointed Emma Reynolds, who was a pensions minister, to Siddiq’s role.
Hasina, who had ruled Bangladesh since 2009, is being investigated there on suspicion of corruption and money laundering. Hasina and her party deny wrongdoing.
Siddiq was named in December as part of Bangladesh’s investigation into whether her family were involved in siphoning off funds from Bangladeshi infrastructure projects.
The anti-corruption commission alleged financial irregularities worth billions of dollars in the awarding of a $12.65 billion nuclear power contract, saying Hasina and Siddiq may have benefited.
After facing further scrutiny over the use of properties in Britain linked to Hasina and her supporters, Siddiq referred herself to the government’s independent ethics adviser.
Siddiq lived in a north London property given to her family in 2009 by Moin Ghani, a Bangladeshi lawyer who has represented Hasina’s government, documents filed with Companies House and the Land Registry show.
She also acquired a separate property in London in 2004, without paying for it, from a developer linked to the Awami League, Hasina’s political party, the Financial Times reported this month.
Hasina fled Bangladesh after being toppled following weeks of protests.
Siddiq’s departure follows the resignation of British transport minister Louise Haigh late last year. Haigh acknowledged a minor criminal offense before she entered government, relating to a mobile phone that she had wrongly reported stolen.
![]()
UK anti-corruption minister resigns over ties to ousted Bangladesh PM
Short Url
https://arab.news/4dyct
UK anti-corruption minister resigns over ties to ousted Bangladesh PM
- Tulip Siddiq, 42, had repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and Prime Minister Keir Starmer said last week he had full confidence in her
- Siddiq was named as part of Bangladesh’s investigation into whether her family were involved in siphoning off funds from Bangladeshi infrastructure projects
Where’s my bag? India’s IndiGo battles passenger fury over luggage lost in chaos
- Customers complain they are not able to find their luggage
- Government orders IndiGo to deliver luggage promptly
NEW DELHI/BENGALURU: India’s IndiGo is battling growing passenger fury over delays in finding and delivering thousands of stranded bags, with social media flooded with photos of luggage piling up at airports after last week’s large-scale flight disruptions. IndiGo, which has 65 percent of the domestic market, has apologized after canceling more than 2,000 flights as it failed to plan in time for stricter rules governing pilot rest, leading to crew shortages. The delays jolted tens of thousands of people, hitting travel, holiday and wedding plans in one of the worst disruptions in Indian aviation history. But last-minute cancelations and the multiple connecting flights used to reroute passengers, has also left thousands of suitcases and bags misplaced, some containing valuable items such as passports, house keys and medicines.
Passengers furious as bags lost, wedding clothes missing
Social media posts showed security-tagged bags piled up in terminal areas in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru airports with many furious passengers seeking help from IndiGo’s social media team on X. “Delhi Left Holding The Bag,” read the headline of a Times of India newspaper photo that went viral showing hundreds of bags in an area typically meant for passengers to sit.
The Indian government in a statement late on Sunday said it had ordered IndiGo to “trace and deliver all baggage separated from passengers due to disruptions within 48 hours.” By Saturday, the airline had delivered 3,000 pieces of baggage to passengers across India, the government said.
No response on help lines, passenger says
Vikash Bajpai, 47, said he had been waiting for four days for the luggage he and his 72-year-old mother checked in for their flight home to Pune from Kanpur city where they had attended a wedding.
They only reached home after spending a night in a New Delhi hotel, taking a series of connections to Mumbai, and then a taxi to Pune.
There was no sign of their bags when they landed in Mumbai. “I was given a number to call, but nobody answers the phone. The luggage has expensive wedding clothes and shoes, and my mother’s medication,” Bajpai said, estimating the contents were worth 90,000 rupees ($1,000).
“I am extremely upset.”
A senior IndiGo executive said on condition of anonymity the airline was working “round the clock” to clear the bags and ensure they reached their customers.
Deepak Chetry said he finally got his bags from IndiGo on Saturday, but only after waiting an entire night outside the Bengaluru airport. “All we got was a bottle of water and juice,” Chetry said.
Passengers furious as bags lost, wedding clothes missing
Social media posts showed security-tagged bags piled up in terminal areas in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru airports with many furious passengers seeking help from IndiGo’s social media team on X. “Delhi Left Holding The Bag,” read the headline of a Times of India newspaper photo that went viral showing hundreds of bags in an area typically meant for passengers to sit.
The Indian government in a statement late on Sunday said it had ordered IndiGo to “trace and deliver all baggage separated from passengers due to disruptions within 48 hours.” By Saturday, the airline had delivered 3,000 pieces of baggage to passengers across India, the government said.
No response on help lines, passenger says
Vikash Bajpai, 47, said he had been waiting for four days for the luggage he and his 72-year-old mother checked in for their flight home to Pune from Kanpur city where they had attended a wedding.
They only reached home after spending a night in a New Delhi hotel, taking a series of connections to Mumbai, and then a taxi to Pune.
There was no sign of their bags when they landed in Mumbai. “I was given a number to call, but nobody answers the phone. The luggage has expensive wedding clothes and shoes, and my mother’s medication,” Bajpai said, estimating the contents were worth 90,000 rupees ($1,000).
“I am extremely upset.”
A senior IndiGo executive said on condition of anonymity the airline was working “round the clock” to clear the bags and ensure they reached their customers.
Deepak Chetry said he finally got his bags from IndiGo on Saturday, but only after waiting an entire night outside the Bengaluru airport. “All we got was a bottle of water and juice,” Chetry said.
Latest updates
Recommended
© 2025 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.