THE UK’S TREASURY minister Tulip Siddiq has left her role in government.

Siddiq said she had not breached the ministerial code but that continuing in her role would be a “distraction”, in a letter to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

She had referred herself to the prime minister’s ethics tsar.

Siddiq’s aunt is the former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled into exile after being deposed last year.

Hasina is facing an investigation by an anti-corruption commission in Bangladesh, with Siddiq reportedly named as part of the case.

Siddiq has also come under intense scrutiny over her use of properties in London linked to her aunt’s allies.

Siddiq is an MP for a north London seat who has been part of the finance ministry and responsible for the UK’s financial services sector as well as anti-corruption measures.

Over the weekend, a Sunday Times investigation revealed details about the claims that Siddiq spent years living in a London flat bought by an offshore company connected to two Bangladeshi businessmen.

The flat was eventually transferred as a gift to a Bangladeshi barrister with links to Hasina, her family and her ousted government, according to the newspaper.

An independent review has confirmed that I have not breached the Ministerial Code and there is no evidence to suggest I have acted improperly.

Nonetheless, to avoid distraction for the Government, I have resigned as City Minister.

Here is my full letter to the Prime Minister. pic.twitter.com/kZeWZfEsei

— Tulip Siddiq (@TulipSiddiq) January 14, 2025

‘A distraction’ 

In her resignation letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq thanked him for the “confidence” he has shown her but said her continuing in post “is likely to be a distraction”.

She said: “Having conducted an in-depth review of the matter at my request, Sir Laurie has confirmed that I have not breached the Ministerial Code. As he notes, there is no evidence to suggest that I have acted improperly in relation to the properties I have owned or lived in.

“My family connections are a matter of public record, and when I became a minister I provided the full details of my relationships and private interests to the Government.

“However it is clear that continuing in my role as Economic Secretary to the Treasury is likely to be a distraction from the work of Government. My loyalty is and always will be to this Labour Government and the programme of national renewal and transformation it has embarked upon. I have therefore decided to resign from my ministerial position.”

‘Door remains open’ 

Starmer said the “door remains open” for Siddiq in his letter accepting her resignation.

“It is with sadness I accept your resignation from your ministerial role,” Starmer said. 

He thanked her for her time in office and added that, in accepting her resignation, “I also wish to be clear that Sir Laurie Magnus as independent adviser has assured me he found no breach of the Ministerial Code and no evidence of financial improprieties on your part”.

“I want to thank you for self-referring to the independent adviser and for your full co-operation with the establishment of facts.

“I appreciate that to end ongoing distraction from delivering our agenda to change Britain, you have made a difficult decision and want to be clear that the door remains open for you going forward.”