• Politics
• Visit Article Link

• BBC Politics
• Mon Apr 14 2025

MP Siddiq attacks 'smear campaign' after arrest warrant

19 hours ago Share Save Joshua Nevett Political reporter Share Save

Tulip Siddiq: There is no evidence that I've done anything wrong

Labour MP and former minister Tulip Siddiq has accused the Bangladeshi authorities of a "politically motivated smear campaign" after they issued an arrest warrant against her. The country's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has been investigating allegations Siddiq illegally received land as part of its wider probe of the regime of her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, who was deposed as prime minister in August. The Hampstead and Highgate MP, who quit as economic secretary to the Treasury in January, was named in the arrest warrant alongside more than 50 others over the weekend. Responding to the arrest warrant, Siddiq told reporters the Bangladeshi authorities were conducting a "trial by media".

She said: "My lawyers proactively wrote to the Bangladeshi authorities, they never responded. "I'm sure you'll understand I can't dignify this politically motivated smear campaign with any context or any comments. "It's a completely politically motivated smear campaign trying to harass me. There is no evidence that I've done anything wrong." Extradition allows one country to ask another to hand over a suspect to face trial, once an arrest warrant has been issued. The UK lists Bangladesh as a 2B extradition country - meaning clear evidence must be presented before ministers and judges make a decision. A spokesman for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he would not comment on individual cases. On Sunday, Siddiq's lawyers said the ACC had made "various allegations" against the MP "through the media in the last few months". "The allegations are completely false and have been dealt with in writing by Ms Siddiq's lawyers," Siddiq's lawyers Stephenson Harwood said, in a statement seen by the BBC.