MP Siddiq attacks 'smear campaign' after arrest warrant

Labour MP and former minister Tulip Siddiq has accused the Bangladeshi authorities of a "politically motivated smear campaign" after they issued an arrest warrant against her.

The country's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has been investigating allegations Siddiq illegally received land as part of its wider probe of the regime of her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, who was deposed as prime minister in August.

The Hampstead and Highgate MP, who quit as economic secretary to the Treasury in January, was named in the arrest warrant alongside more than 50 others over the weekend.

Responding to the arrest warrant, Siddiq told reporters the Bangladeshi authorities were conducting a "trial by media".

She said: "My lawyers proactively wrote to the Bangladeshi authorities, they never responded.

"I'm sure you'll understand I can't dignify this politically motivated smear campaign with any context or any comments.

"It's a completely politically motivated smear campaign trying to harass me. There is no evidence that I've done anything wrong."

Extradition allows one country to ask another to hand over a suspect to face trial, once an arrest warrant has been issued.

The UK lists Bangladesh as a 2B extradition country - meaning clear evidence must be presented before ministers and judges make a decision.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he would not comment on individual cases.

On Sunday, Siddiq's lawyers said the ACC had made "various allegations" against the MP "through the media in the last few months".

"The allegations are completely false and have been dealt with in writing by Ms Siddiq's lawyers," Siddiq's lawyers Stephenson Harwood said, in a statement seen by the BBC.

Bangladesh's ACC is examining allegations Hasina and her family embezzled up to £3.9bn from infrastructure spending in Bangladesh.

The investigation is based on a series of allegations made by Bobby Hajjaj, a political opponent of Hasina.

Court documents seen by the BBC show Hajjaj has accused Siddiq of helping to broker a deal with Russia in 2013 that overinflated the price of a new nuclear power plant in Bangladesh.

ACC chairman Mohammad Abdul Momen has previously told the BBC the allegations "are by no means targeted and baseless" and its investigation was "based on documentary evidence of corruption".

"Tulip Siddiq must not shy away from the court proceedings in Bangladesh.

"I would welcome Siddiq come and defend her case and with the best possible legal support accompanying her," he added.

Siddiq quit her ministerial post earlier this year, following an investigation into the allegations by the prime minister's ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus.

In his report, Sir Laurie said he had "not identified evidence of improprieties".

But he added it was "regrettable" that Siddiq had not been more alert to the "potential reputational risks" of her ties to her aunt, who is leader of Awami League party in Bangladesh.