Keir Starmer faces MP grilling hours after Reeves hints at emergency spending cuts & scandal-hit Treasury minister quits
SIR Keir Starmer faces a Commons grilling today after Treasury Minister Tulip Siddiq was forced to quit in a corruption row linked to her family.
The PM will go head-to-head with Kemi Badenoch at Prime Minister’s Questions, with the Tory leader already accusing him of “dithering and delaying” to protect his pal.
Ms Siddiq dramatically quit yesterday after the Sir Keir’s ethics adviser found she had “inadvertently misled” the public about a flat gifted by an ally of her aunt, Bangladesh’s ousted former prime minister.
Sir Laurie Magnus launched an eight-day investigation after Ms Siddiq referred herself to the standards watchdog after press reports questioning the origins of the property.
The PM had defended her just last week but accepted her resignation “with sadness”.
Ethics boss Sir Laurie Magnus had written to Sir Keir saying he should “consider her ongoing responsibilities”.
He added it was regrettable Ms Siddiq could not provide conclusive documentation confirming regulations had been followed concerning two properties gifted to her and her sister by allies of her aunt.
Sir Laurie also said the Labour MP had inadvertently misled the public over the ownership of a flat in King’s Cross.
And he noted a 2013 Moscow visit for a signing ceremony for a nuclear power plant in Bangladesh — a deal likely to be at the centre of an investigation into large-scale embezzlement.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: “It was clear at the weekend that the anti-corruption minister’s position was completely untenable. Yet Keir Starmer dithered and delayed to protect his close friend.
“Even now, as Bangladesh files a criminal case against Tulip Siddiq, he expresses ‘sadness’ at her inevitable resignation.”
Treasury Minister Darren Jones this morning defended the Government’s handling of the investigation.
He argued the probe was proof an enhanced independent process for assessing ministerial standards “is working”.
He told the BBC: “What is clear is that our new independent process is working.”
Mr Jones said he would be happy to see Ms Siddiq return to Government, insisting “there is no question of improper behaviour on her part”.
He added: “The Prime Minister has been clear the decision to step down was hers, and it was the right one under the circumstances.”