Tulip Siddiq was born on 16 September 1982 inSutton, London. She is the daughter of former Dhaka University professorShafique Ahmed Siddique,[7][8][9] andSheikh Rehana,[7] who gained political asylum in the UK as a teenager.[10] The two met when Shafique Siddique was studying for a PhD,[11] and married in Kilburn in 1980. Siddiq was born inSt Helier Hospital[9] inSt Helier, London, and has an elder brother, Radwan "Bobby" Mujib,[12][13][14] and a younger sister, Azmina Siddiq.[15] When she was 15, the family moved toHampstead.[16] She was raised a Muslim and has said that her "family embraced multicultural Britain".
In 2017, Siddiq said she was British, not Bangladeshi, but Bangladeshi officials stated that she held Bangladeshi citizenship, having had multiple Bangladeshi passports, an id card and with her name in the voter registry. Siddiq's lawyer denied these Bangladeshi documents existed, and suggested they were fabrications.[23] However, a collaborated investigation byProthom Alo daily inDhaka andThe Times inLondon documented evidence revealing that Siddiq held a national identity card (NID) as a Bangladeshi citizen, was registered to vote in Bangladesh, and also held a Bangladeshi passport.[24][25]
At the age of 16, Siddiq joined theLabour Party.[16] Her father suffered a stroke, which left him disabled[10] and unable to speak for five years.[11][10] She has cited theNational Health Service and the care her disabled father received as the reason why she joined.[26] She identified former Labour ministerBarbara Castle as her political heroine,[9] and has described her mother and maternal aunt as "two very strong feminists".[27]
In a 2006 by-election, Siddiq stood unsuccessfully forCamden Council.[9] In the2010 local government elections, she became the first female Bangladeshi councillor for Camden Council,[28] where she was Cabinet Member for Culture and Communities untilMay 2014.[29]
Circa 2009, she worked for the BangladeshAwami League political party in the UK and EU lobbying unit and election strategy team, and appeared on BBC television as a spokesperson for the Awami League.[30][31]
In November 2016, Siddiq supported a motion in Parliament for the UK to withdraw support for theSaudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.[62] In January 2017, she resigned from the Labour frontbench over Labour'sthree-line whip, to vote against triggeringArticle 50 of the Treaty on European Union. She stated that because around 75% of her Hampstead and Kilburn constituency had voted to remain in the European Union as one of the top 10 remain areas, she could not support Labour's position though with a "heavy heart".[63][64] She won an endorsement from Camden for Europe,Open Britain andBest for Britain, due to her decision to vote against Article 50.[65] In May 2017, ahead of the2017 general election, Siddiq supported a group of Labour MPs who argued Labour should stand down in certainGreen party target seats where they were more likely than Labour to defeat the Consevatives.[66]
At the snap2017 general election, Siddiq was re-elected as MP for Hampstead and Kilburn with an increased vote share of 59% and an increased majority of 15,560.[67][68]
In August 2017, Siddiq called for businesses to "address imbalance" in the employment of people from ethnic minorities to improve the diversity of its workforce.[69] In September 2017, she was appointed as Chair of the new Childcare and Early Education All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG).[70] In the same month, she wrote to theHome Office to ask for children's passports to be amended to contain both their parents' names to avoid confusion at airports and borders. She had been stopped with her daughter at UK border control whilst returning from a family holiday until her husband joined them, because she did not have the same surname in her passport as her child.[71][72][73]
In November 2017, whilst campaigning for the release of her constituent, the British-Iranian citizenNazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was detained inIran, she was asked byAlex Thomson ofChannel 4 News andITN about using her family ties to the Bangladeshi government, led by her aunt, in order to liberate British BangladeshibarristerAhmad Bin Quasem, who is thought to have been abducted by state security forces in Bangladesh. The programme's editor,Ben de Pear, complained about Siddiq's "threatening behaviour" to a pregnant producer, while Siddiq complained to the police about her interlocutors.[74][75][76] She later apologised in a statement to the producer, Daisy Ayliffe, for the offence caused.[75]
In May 2018, Siddiq supported anequal pay campaign aimed at building pressure on employers.[77] In the same month, she described the actions of theIsraeli military duringdemonstrations on the Gaza border as "unjustified" and "inhumane". She said: "I condemn without reservation these violations of international law and human rights by Israel... The protest has been twofold – to highlight the shocking conditions which Palestinians are forced to live in and to demand theirright to return to their homes..."[78] In August 2018, she joined international calls for her aunt's government to release Bangladeshi photographerShahidul Alam, who had been jailed after reporting about protests by schoolchildren over road safety problems, and had subsequently stated he was tortured.[79][80]
In December 2024, Bangladesh'sAnti-Corruption Commission (ACC) named Siddiq in an investigation into infrastructure projects, including a 2013 deal with Russia forRooppur Nuclear Power Plant, in which it is claimed up to £3.9 billion was embezzled. Siddiq attended the nuclear deal's signing at theKremlin alongside her aunt Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina and Russian PresidentVladimir Putin. The investigation was started through a court application brought by a political opponent of Siddiq's aunt.[84][85] Siddiq's current parliamentary brief includes regulating corruption in the financial sector.[84] On 19 December, Siddiq had a meeting with theCabinet Office Propriety and Ethics Team to discuss the allegations.[86][87] Following theFinancial Times reporting that a developer with links to the Awami League gave a flat bought in 2001 for £195,000 to Siddiq without charge in 2004, rather than being a gift from her parents as previously reported, Siddiq referred herself on 6 January 2025 to the prime minister'sIndependent Adviser on Ministers' Interests to independently establish the facts.[88] She later stated the flat was a gift from her non-political godfather, although two years earlier she had told a newspaper that her parents had bought the flat for her.[89] Siddiq continued to be subject to considerable media attention about her political future after the announcement.[90][91][92]
The ACC later named Siddiq in another investigation into the alleged illegal allocation of 21,600 square feet (0.5 acres) of diplomatic zone land to Siddiq's mother and siblings. The affidavit filed by the ACC stated "it is known that [Ms Siddiq] exerted pressure and influence ... for the allotment of plots in the same project in the names of her mother, Mrs Rehana Siddiq, her sister Ms Azmina Siddiq, and her brother Mr Radwan Mujib Siddiq." A spokesperson said that Siddiq rebutted the claim.[93][94] In April 2025, a Bangladeshi judge issued an arrest warrant for Siddiq related to the land transfer.[95][96]
On 14 January 2025, the Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests report was published, in which he stated while he found no evidence of improprieties it was regrettable Siddiq "was not more alert to the potential reputational risks", but the shortcomings were not a breach of theMinisterial Code, though he advised the prime minister to "consider her ongoing responsibilities".[97][98] Later that day Siddiq resigned from government, stating that although she had not breached the ministerial code, the ethics investigation was a distraction from the work of government.[97][99]
Siddiq was a board member of West Euston Partnership and is governor of the Camden and IslingtonNHS Foundation Trust.[21] She served as national BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) Officer forYoung Labour and Women's Officer forLondon Young Labour. She is an executive board member ofUnite the Union, a member of theCo-operative Party, a fellow of theRoyal Society of Arts and is also a member of the Commonwealth Journalists Association (UK).[20] She also oversaw Camden's engagement with the2012 London Olympics, which saw the launch of three legacy schemes to encourage more physical activities, Camden Sports Academy, School and Community Games, and Pro-Active Ambassadors.[100]
In November 2017, Siddiq apologised for offensive remarks directed at a pregnantChannel 4 producer. The incident occurred after the producer questioned Siddiq about her perceived failure to address theenforced disappearance of British-trained barristerMir Ahmad Bin Quasem in Bangladesh during her auntSheikh Hasina's tenure as Prime Minister, a government widely criticized for human rights abuses and authoritarian rule. Siddiq said that she could not answer, having no place in Bangladeshi intelligence or government, nationality or citizenship, being a British-born UK citizen working in the British government.
After the interview with Channel 4 News reporter Alex Thomson, Siddiq is quoted as saying to the producer "Thanks Daisy for coming. Hope you have a great birth because child labour is hard." Thomson interpreted this as a "hostile statement" and complained to several bodies and organisations about the apparent threat.[104]
In 2018, Siddiq praisedSheikh Hasina, calling her a "great role model" for her daughter.[105]
Allegations of ties to the Bangladesh Awami League
In 2019, Siddiq denied involvement inBangladeshi politics but faced accusations of utilizingAwami League supporters in herHampstead and Kilburn campaign.[106] Footage from a 2017 meeting showed her expressing gratitude to these supporters, stating, "Without your support, I would not have been able to win my seat."[107] Previously, she acknowledged working for the Awami League's EU and UK lobbying unit and election strategy team. TwoLabour officials also claimed that the Awami League supported her2024 election campaign.[108]
In 2015, Siddiq spoke at an event for theCentre for Research and Information (CRI), a group accused of disseminating misinformation in support of Sheikh Hasina's government. Siddiq praised her aunt's leadership at the event, despite later attempts to distance herself from Bangladeshi politics.[109]
In August 2024, it was revealed that Siddiq resided in a property owned by a businessman with close ties to the Awami League.[110] Two years earlier, she faced scrutiny for living in a home owned bySalman F Rahman, an Awami League minister and business tycoon. The property was registered under Rahman's son through an offshore company in theIsle of Man.[110]
In January 2025, it was revealed that Siddiq was gifted a flat in London in 2004 by Abdul Motalif, a property developer linked to the Awami League.[111] Following these revelations, she referred herself to theministerial standards watchdog for an independent investigation.[112] In the same month,The Telegraph reported that Siddiq, along with Awami LeagueMPKazi Nabil Ahmed, attended two matches of the2019 Cricket World Cup as a freebie. The cost of each ticket was£358.80, including lunch.[113][114][115]
Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Investigation
In July 2024, theParliamentary Commissioner for Standards investigated Siddiq for failing to declare income from a rental property. The commissioner concluded that the omission was "inadvertent" and accepted Siddiq's explanation for the late registration.[116][117]
In December 2024,Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission named Siddiq in an investigation alleging embezzlement of up to£3,900,000,000 from infrastructure projects.[118] She was alleged to have helped set up a meeting with the Russian government in 2013 to discuss theRooppur Nuclear Power Plant. The allegations involved her family, including her aunt, ousted prime ministerSheikh Hasina.[119][120] The claims originated from a legal case filed by Bobby Hajjaj, a political opponent of Hasina's party.[121][122] Siddiq denied any involvement, and thePrime Minister's Office stated that Prime MinisterKeir Starmer maintained confidence in her asEconomic Secretary to the Treasury.[123] Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) confirmed it is liaising with almost twelve countries to repatriate money allegedly laundered by Tulip Siddiq and her families.[124]
Siddiq faces trial, alongside 26 others, on 11 August 2025 in Bangladesh over allegations she illegally received a plot of land in theDhaka diplomatic zone. The trial will proceed in her absence if she does not attend.[125]
On 14 January 2025, Tulip Siddiq resigned from her position as Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister.[126] Her resignation came amid growing pressure over her connections to corruption allegations in Bangladesh involving her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, the former prime minister who was ousted in August 2024.[127] Siddiq was named in multiple corruption investigations in Bangladesh:
An embezzlement probe alleging that her family misappropriated funds from infrastructure projects in Dhaka, including a $5 billion embezzlement linked to a power plant construction.[128]
An investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) of Bangladesh into money laundering and power misuse.[129]
A third inquiry launched by Bangladeshi authorities, as confirmed by ACC Director General Akhtar Hossain.
In her resignation letter, Siddiq maintained her innocence but acknowledged that the ongoing situation could distract from the government's work. Prime Minister Keir Starmer accepted her resignation, noting that no evidence of financial misconduct had been found. The UK Anti-Corruption Coalition called for Siddiq to relinquish her economic crime responsibilities due to a potential conflict of interest, given her family ties to the deposed regime in Bangladesh.[130]
On 13 April 2025, the ACC issued an arrest warrant against Siddiq as part of an investigation into her alleged involvement in corruption during Sheikh Hasina's premiership, with Siddiq being accused of illegally receiving land. Siddiq's lawyers noted that she denies the charges, which they said were "politically motivated", adding that the ACC had not brought forward any evidence to support its arrest warrant.[131]
Siddiq and her family live in a semi-detached house inEast Finchley rented from an official of the London branch of the Bangladesh Awami League.[88][140][30]
^"Tulip Siddiq". Mill Hill School Alumni. 11 February 2019.Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved25 May 2022.
^abKarim, Mohammed Abdul; Karim, Shahadoth (October 2010).British Bangladeshi Who's Who(PDF). British Bangla Media Group. p. 112.Archived(PDF) from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved18 September 2011.
^Magnus, Laurie (14 January 2025)."Self-referral by Tulip Siddiq MP"(PDF).Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests. UK Government. Retrieved15 January 2025.
