Tulip under pressure to resign as minister over 'lying' about receiving London flat as gift
British anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq was under pressure to quit yesterday after allegations emerged that she had lied about receiving a London flat as a gift.
The two-bedroom flat, now worth £700,000, was previously owned by a property developer connected to her aunt Sheikh Hasina, the recently ousted Bangladesh prime minister.
Tulip has denied it was a gift, instead insisting that her parents had bought it for her, reports Daily Mail.
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Labour sources told Daily Mail that the King's Cross flat was indeed given to her by the developer as an "act of gratitude".
Tulip, 42, whose role is to stamp out corruption in Britain's financial sector, is under investigation in Bangladesh, where she and four family members are accused of embezzling £3.9 billion from a nuclear power plant.
Last night, Tory MPs demanded she step down as minister unless she explains herself.
Bob Blackman, the Tory MP for Harrow East, said, "Siddiq needs to clarify the position in relation to her property dealings and explain what was stated originally and why. If she does not, her position as a minister is untenable."
MP Matt Vickers, Shadow Home Office minister, added, "Allegations of this nature against any member of government are unacceptable, but are even more questionable when the minister is Starmer's anti-corruption minister."
Ben Obese-Jecty, the Tory MP for Huntingdon, said, "This new information about Tulip Siddiq is troubling. Now that it has been shown the flat was gifted to her and not purchased by her as previously claimed, Tulip Siddiq has further questions to answer."
Labour sources yesterday told Daily Mail that in 2022, when first enquiries were made, Tulip was told by her family that the flat was bought from a house sale. But apparently the family's recollections changed last week.
A Labour insider yesterday told the Financial Times, "Following financial support provided by Tulip's parents to an acquaintance during a challenging time in his life, he subsequently transferred a property he owned into Tulip's ownership as an act of gratitude for her parents' support."
Immediately after the FT published its story, Labour sources contacted Daily Mail to reiterate they did not "deliberately mislead" them three years ago.
Tulip declined to comment, but a source close to her said, "Tulip's previous understanding of how she gained ownership of the property has changed. As soon as she realised the error, she ensured the journalist who enquired previously was informed."
Land Registry records showed Tulip became the sole owner of the third-floor flat in November 2004, when she would have just finished her MA at King's College, London, and had no known income. The property had no mortgage and no price on it, suggesting it was not bought but transferred to her.
The previous owner of the flat was Abdul Motalif, now 70, a fellow Bangladeshi, who bought the property in 2001 for £195,000.
Motalif is connected to the Awami League, the Bangladeshi political party led by Sheikh Hasina who was ousted in August. He could not be contacted for comment.
Tulip has been renting this property out since at least 2013, when she first declared the rent while a Labour councillor in Camden, North London.
Parliamentary records show she receives over £10,000 in rent from the property, whose lease was renewed by Tulip in 2018 for £95,000.
