Tulip Siddiq, MP for Hampstead and Highgate in the United Kingdom, received hospitality at cricket matches alongside a former member of her ousted dictator aunt Sheikh Hasina's regime, as reported by The Telegraph.
Citing records, the report noted that Tulip Siddiq, niece of Sheikh Hasina, attended two Cricket World Cup matches in 2019. She accepted tickets valued at £358.80 each, including lunch, to watch Bangladesh face New Zealand and Pakistan.
One of her fellow attendees was Kazi Nabil Ahmed. He is a former Awami League politician and is now under investigation by the anti-corruption commission (ACC) in Bangladesh, alongside other ministers and MPs of his party.
The Awami League politicians faced various allegations, including abuse of power, acquiring illegal wealth and smuggling money and gold abroad. Kazi Nabil Ahmed was an Awami League MP between 2014 and 2024, before reportedly fleeing the country following the collapse of the Sheikh Hasina regime.
Sheikh Hasina led Bangladesh for 15 years before her government fell last year. During her tenure, opponents were attacked, arrested and secretly imprisoned as the regime carried out extrajudicial killings.
Tulip Siddiq has sought to distance herself from her aunt’s regime. But the Telegraph revealed this week how Awami League members campaigned for both her and Sir Keir Starmer during the 2019 general election campaign.
She has referred herself to the prime minister’s ethics adviser over allegations surrounding her use of properties linked to her aunt’s Awami League supporters in London.
A spokesperson for Tulip Siddiq said: “This was declared transparently and in line with the rules.”
Following last year’s election supporters of the Awami League turned up on Siddiq’s doorstep to congratulate her with flowers. The house in north London is owned by Abdul Karim, a businessman said to be an ally of Sheikh Hasina.
According to labour sources, Tulip Siddiq moved into the home for security reasons and have previously claimed some neighbours did not even know she lived there.
It is unclear whether he was invited or turned up unannounced, but Mohammed Ayas, a member of the Awami Youth Wing, took a photo himself on her doorstep and presented her with flowers following her re-election last year.
The post on Facebook was deleted after The Telegraph asked Labour about how supporters of the Awami League knew the address of Siddiq. Labour sources said private citizens who may know Tulip Siddiq hold their own beliefs and it did not mean any wrongdoing on her part.
The Telegraph can also reveal that supporters of the Awami League attended the Labour conference in Brighton in 2021. They include Abdul Shahid Sheikh, who says he works in PR for the Awami League and Mr Ayas. Others who attended included Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury, the former mayor of Sylhet, and a close ally of Sheikh Hasina.
Addressing the issue of Awami League supporters attending the conference, a Labour spokesman said: “This is a desperate reach. Lots of people, of all political views, attend political conferences in a variety of capacities, including Tory Conference. They’re legitimate forums for political debate and free speech. The differing views of those at these events should not be taken as representative of the wider Labour Party or its views.”