Tulip Siddiq, a senior Labour minister of the United Kingdom and niece of Bangladesh’s deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, was facing urgent questions Saturday night after it emerged that she is living in a £2 million house owned by a close political ally of her aunt, London-based the Daily Mail reported on Sunday.
The Mail on Sunday can reveal City minister Tulip Siddiq moved out of the flat she owns in North London two years ago, and moved with her family into a large five-bedroom home a few miles away that is owned by a family friend, millionaire businessman Abdul Karim, said the report available online.
Last year, Karim was granted special business privileges by Siddiq’s aunt Sheikh Hasina Wazed, a dictator who ruled Bangladesh with an iron fist for 15 years, the report mentioned.
It said Siddiq refused to say how much rent she was paying Karim to live in his large house despite repeated requests by this newspaper.
A former parliamentary watchdog said if she is paying below market rate, she should declare it, amid questions over whether Karim had benefited from allowing Siddiq to live in his house while she earned thousands of pounds in income from renting out her former family home.
Tulip’s aunt Sheikh Hasina resigned on August 5 and fled to India for shelter following weeks of violent anti-regime protests, during which around 400 people were killed by regime security forces.
‘She has gone into hiding in India with Siddiq’s mother, Rehana Siddiq, and is now reportedly seeking to claim asylum in Britain,’ the report said.