The runners and riders to replace under-fire City minister Tulip Siddiq
Downing Street is reportedly weighing up a number of potential candidates to replace Tulip Siddiq as her position as City minister comes under increasing pressure.
Siddiq, the niece of ousted Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Hasina, has been in the headlines since last month when she was named in an investigation into whether her Bangladeshi family embezzled nearly £4bn from energy and major infrastructure deals.
The Labour MP, whose ministerial remit includes tackling corruption in financial markets, is accused of having helped broker a deal with Russia for a nuclear power power plant in Bangladesh 11 years ago which allegedly saw £1bn siphoned off.
The Cabinet Office has said Siddiq denies any involvement and she is said to have described the allegations as a “political hit job”, orchestrated by her aunt’s political rivals.
While Downing Street has said publicly that Siddiq retains the prime minister’s confidence, Starmer’s team are reportedly weighing up potential replacements.
According to The Times, the Labour MPs in the running for the position if Siddiq either steps down or is fired include Callum Anderson, Rachel Blake, Kanishka Narayan, Alistair Strathern and Imogen Walker.
Siddiq was first elected as an MP in 2015 in the neighbouring constituency to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, succeeding the Oscar-winning actress Glenda Jackson in the north London seat.
She quickly ascended through the Labour Party ranks, becoming shadow minister for children and early years under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership in 2016, before being made shadow economic secretary to the Treasury three years ago.
If she was to be replaced, Siddiq would be the second high-profile minister to depart the government after Transport Secretary Louise Haigh stepped down last year.
What’s the row about?
The investigation by Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission is being carried out on the instruction of the country’s new government, a political opponent of Siddiq’s aunt.
Hassina was the country’s longest-serving Prime Minister, and fled the country earlier this year amid claims of corruption and overseeing an oppressive regime that quashed freedom of speech and political opposition.
She is now wanted by Bangladesh’s International Criminal Tribunal for what the court alleges were crimes against humanity in response to demonstrations against her rule, which saw hundreds killed.
The wider probe alleges that Hasina, who is now believed to be based in India, embezzled £3.9bn meant for nine large-scale infrastructure projects, including the construction of the Roopur Nuclear Power Plant, the project in which Siddiq is allegedly implicated.
Syed Faruk, who runs the UK branch of Hasina’s Awami League party, told the BBC the claims were “fabricated”.
There is no suggestion that Siddiq, who is MP for Hampstead and Highgate, is involved across the full scope of the investigation beyond her alleged role concerning the nuclear power deal struck in 2013.
What’s happened recently?
At the start of 2025, it was reported that Siddiq was given a London flat by a person with links to the deposed Bangladeshi leader.
She was reported to have been given the two-bedroom property near King’s Cross in 2004, according to the Financial Times (FT).
The newspaper cited Land Registry documents which they said revealed Siddiq had not paid for the property, and was given it by Abdul Motif, a developer with links to her aunt.
At the time, a spokesperson for the minister said: “Any suggestion that Tulip Siddiq’s ownership of this property, or any other property is in any way linked to support for the Awami League, would be categorically wrong.”
The King’s Cross flat was purchased in 2001 for £195,000, the FT reported. Siddiq does not currently live in the property but declares rental income from two flats in her , one of which she was reprimanded over by the standards commissioner last year for failing to disclose.
A few days later, Keir Starmer confirmed that Siddiq had referred herself to the government’s standards watchdog, writing to Sir Laurie Magnus: “I am clear that I have done nothing wrong.
“However, for the avoidance of doubt, I would like you to independently establish the facts about these matters.”
Asked about the growing questions following a speech on his plans for the NHS, the Prime Minister told journalists: “Tulip Siddiq has acted entirely properly by referring herself to the independent adviser, as she’s now done.
“And that’s why we brought into being the new code, it’s to allow ministers to ask the adviser to establish the facts.
“And yes I’ve got confidence in her and that’s the process that will now be happening.”
Pressure mounts on Tulip Siddiq
Earlier this week, Bangladesh’s anti-money laundering agency demanded information on the bank accounts and transaction records of Siddiq.
The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit ordered banks in the country to share transactions for all accounts linked to the family of Tulip’s aunt Sheikh Hasina, whose Awami League party ruled the South Asian country for over a decade before being deposed last year.
At Prime Minister’s Questions this week, Keir Starmer insisted Tulip Siddiq has “acted appropriately” by referring herself to the independent adviser on standards and said he would not give “running commentary” of the recently announced probe into her finances.
Conservative MP Gregory Stafford told the Commons: “First of all, we had a Chancellor who embellished her CV, then we had a transport secretary with a fraud conviction, and now we’ve got an anti-corruption minister who is being investigated for corruption.
“Now, I know the Prime Minister likes living in free accommodation, but does he really think it’s appropriate that his minister is being given free housing by the political allies of some very dubious foreign regimes?”
Starmer replied: “The City minister has acted appropriately by referring herself to the independent adviser.
“We brought in our new ministerial code to allow ministers to establish the facts and I’m not going to give a running commentary on that.”