UK branch of Awami League campaigned for Starmer
The group also attended a fundraising dinner for the now-Prime Minister during his tenure in the shadow cabinet
Members of the UK branch of the Bangladeshi Awami League, led by the ousted regime of Sheikh Hasina, actively campaigned for Sir Keir Starmer, The Telegraph has learned.
The group also attended a fundraising dinner for the now-Prime Minister during his tenure in the shadow cabinet, reports The Telegraph.
Sheikh Hasina, 77, served as Bangladesh's longest-running prime minister and head of the Awami League before being ousted last year after 15 years in power. The Awami League continues to maintain a UK wing, with some of its members campaigning for Tulip Siddiq, MP for Hampstead and niece of Sheikh Hasina.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
In 2019, activists from the Awami League's UK branch, including its organizing secretary Abdul Ahad Chowdhury, were seen canvassing for Sir Keir Starmer in his Holborn and St Pancras constituency. Campaigners distributed Labour leaflets and carried placards supporting the party while simultaneously canvassing for Siddiq.
Prominent figures such as Shah Shamim Ahmed and Syed Shazidur Rahman Faruk, senior officials within the UK Awami League, also campaigned for Siddiq during the same period.
The relationship between Labour and the Awami League extends beyond campaigning.
Chowdhury reportedly attended a 2016 fundraising dinner for Sir Keir at a curry restaurant, while in 2019, Sir Keir was photographed with Abdul Shahid Sheikh, a PR representative for the Awami League, while canvassing in Ilford for Labour candidate Sam Tarry. Similar photographs have emerged of Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner with activists linked to the Awami League.
Siddiq now faces fresh challenges as Bangladesh's anti-corruption commission investigates allegations that she facilitated the embezzlement of up to £3.9 billion from infrastructure projects. The country's anti-money laundering agency has requested her bank account details. Siddiq, who holds a Treasury brief that includes combating corruption, denies all allegations and has referred herself to the Prime Minister's ethics advisers over claims involving her use of properties linked to her aunt's supporters in London.
These developments have raised questions about Labour's connections to the Awami League. Sir Keir has faced criticism for meeting Hasina on multiple occasions, including a seven-day trip to Bangladesh in 2016 valued at £1,200.
The visit, organised by Labour Friends of Bangladesh, saw him pictured alongside Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, then foreign minister of Bangladesh. He also met Hasina again in 2022.
Labour has been contacted for comment as the controversy continues to unfold.
