Keir Starmer’s Ties to Bangladesh Raise Questions Amid Controversy

[Social Media]

 

Sir Keir Starmer, the prime minister, finds himself embroiled in a controversy tied to his anti-corruption minister, Tulip Siddiq, after revelations about his long-standing connections with Bangladesh’s Awami League, led by her aunt, Sheikh Hasina. These connections have sparked scrutiny, particularly after Siddiq referred herself to the prime minister's standards adviser following reports that she was gifted a £700,000 London flat by a supporter of the Awami League.

 

 

Sheikh Hasina, the deposed leader of Bangladesh, was ousted in August last year following a student-led uprising against her regime, accused of brutality and corruption. Despite this, Hasina celebrated the Awami League’s strong ties with Labour after Starmer's election as prime minister. UK-based members of the Awami League actively supported Labour in the last general election.

 

 

Starmer, 62, has maintained his relationship with Hasina, 77, and her party, despite consistent warnings from human rights organizations about extrajudicial killings and substantial corruption under her regime. His connections, while garnering support from Britain’s 700,000-strong Bangladeshi community, also threaten to entangle Labour in the shadow of Hasina's alleged corrupt practices.

 

 

In a recent social gathering in London, Starmer conversed with Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury, the UK general secretary of the Awami League.

 

Chowdhury, the exiled mayor of Sylhet City Corporation in northeast Bangladesh, mentioned they discussed "the current situation." Similarly, Chowdhury had met Sadiq Khan, London’s Labour mayor, in June last year to explore ways to enhance ties between the two cities.

 

Starmer's presence was noted at the reopening of a restaurant in his constituency, owned by Abdul Karim Nazim, an executive member of the Awami League in the UK, who also owns the £2.1 million home where Siddiq resides in Finchley, north London. Nazim was honored as a “commercially important person” by the Bangladeshi government and appointed vice-chairman of a bank linked to the Awami League.

 

The relationship between Labour and the Awami League is historic, tracing back to Bangladesh's war of independence, with Siddiq’s grandfather, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, emerging as the country’s founding president in 1971. In a 2012 Commons speech, then Labour MP Jim Fitzpatrick referred to the Awami League as a “sister” party. Starmer's connection to Bangladesh includes a visit nine months after he became an MP, accompanied by Sir Stephen Timms and Steven Reed, on a tour that included Sylhet. Labour Friends of Bangladesh funded his trip, which included presenting Hasina with a signed painting of the Houses of Parliament.

 

In September 2022, Starmer met Hasina at her London residence during Queen Elizabeth II's funeral, expressing satisfaction over the growing political participation of the Bangladeshi community in the UK. Siddiq’s family has retained close ties with the Awami League, with her sister, Azmina, receiving a £650,000 London flat from a close adviser of their aunt. Their family home, valued at £1.4 million, is owned by a top official of a major Bangladeshi conglomerate whose father served in Hasina’s government.

 

Siddiq’s brother, Radwan, and her sister are trustees of the Centre for Research and Information, an Awami League-affiliated think tank criticized by Meta for disseminating fake news. Bangladesh's anti-corruption commission has launched an investigation into Siddiq's potential involvement in the embezzlement of £3.9 billion from a nuclear power plant, with allegations that much of the stolen funds were sent to the UK.

 

Siddiq, pictured with her aunt and President Putin in 2013, has denied facilitating any deals with Moscow for the project. Meanwhile, anti-money laundering officials in Bangladesh have requested bank account details for Siddiq and her family members. Iftekhar Zaman, executive director of Transparency International in Bangladesh, described Hasina's regime as a "kleptocracy" and suggested Siddiq should step down to avoid conflicts of interest.

 

Siddiq, after news of the gifted flat broke, stated: “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.” She expressed confidence in her innocence while requesting an independent review of the allegations by Sir Laurie Magnus, the prime minister’s adviser on ministerial interests.

 

A Labour source defended the party's engagement with global figures, emphasizing the long-standing ties between the UK and Bangladesh in areas such as trade and security, and noted that such meetings do not equate to policy endorsements.

 

Based on a report by The Times 2024-01-13

 

Related Topics:

Calls for PM to Dismiss Tulip Siddiq Over Corruption Allegations Intensify

 

 

[andersonat]

 

The title of the piece is:- "Keir Starmer’s Ties to Bangladesh Raise Questions Amid Controversy".

 

  --  However, the piece itself *doesn't* actually ask any questions.

 

  -  Perhaps there aren't any ? 

 

[Chomper Higgot]

1 hour ago, andersonat said:

 

The title of the piece is:- "Keir Starmer’s Ties to Bangladesh Raise Questions Amid Controversy".

 

  --  However, the piece itself *doesn't* actually ask any questions.

 

  -  Perhaps there aren't any ? 

 

It’s a smear piece.

 

 

[Kinok Farang]

1 hour ago, Chomper Higgot said:

It’s a smear piece.

 

 

No need to smear.The overwhelming majority of the people of the UK know Labour are both corrupt and couldn't run a lemonade stand.

[Chomper Higgot]

1 hour ago, Kinok Farang said:

No need to smear.The overwhelming majority of the people of the UK know Labour are both corrupt and couldn't run a lemonade stand.

I might accept you speak for one of them.