Tulip Siddiq Faces Scrutiny Over Bangladesh Citizenship Records

Tulip Siddiq

Labour has been plunged into a fresh crisis after new details appeared to contradict Tulip Siddiq’s claims regarding her Bangladeshi citizenship.

Officials in Dhaka uncovered records showing a passport issued in London in September 2001, when Siddiq was 19, and a national identity card issued in January 2011. Copies of these documents were shared with authorities.

Siddiq, 43, resigned as an anti-corruption minister in January, citing a desire to avoid being a “distraction.” She was allegedly granted land in Dhaka by her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted as prime minister. The country’s anti-corruption commission called it an “abuse of power.”

Records indicate Siddiq applied to renew her passport in January 2011 at the Agargaon passport office in Dhaka. Entries in the Election Commission database also appear to confirm her national identity and passport numbers, listing her permanent address as a house in Dhaka owned by her aunt.

Her lawyers have labelled the case a “politically motivated smear campaign.” Previously, Siddiq denied holding a Bangladeshi national identity card or passport. A spokesperson for her legal team claimed the newly revealed documents were “fabricated” and intended to undermine her credibility.

A passport and national identity card are issued only to Bangladeshi citizens, either by birth in the country or through a Bangladeshi parent. Siddiq, born in Britain to Bangladeshi parents, is entitled to dual citizenship, though she has previously sought to distance herself from her Bangladeshi heritage.

In 2017, when asked about intervening in the case of a British-trained barrister imprisoned in Bangladesh, she said: “Are you calling me Bangladeshi? Because I am British… I am not Bangladeshi.”

Siddiq is currently on trial in absentia in Bangladesh, accused of influencing her aunt to secure land plots for her family. She denies any wrongdoing, describing the case as “persecution and a farce.”