Senior allies of UK PM Sir Keir Starmer are considering candidates to replace Tulip Siddiq, niece of deposed Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina, in case she is forced to quit over links to her aunt's regime, reports UK publication The Times.
Candidates are said to have been identified to succeed the Treasury minister over the weekend, before Monday's public announcement that Tulip had referred herself to the prime minister's ethics watchdog.
Starmer said he had full confidence in Tulip, and a No 10 spokesman said it was "completely untrue" to suggest the party had drawn up a shortlist. However, The Times reported that some of the close aides to the prime minister were at least informally considering who could succeed her.
Siddiq referred herself to Sir Laurie Magnus, the independent advisor on ministers' interests, amid questions about her use of several properties linked to the government of her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted as Bangladesh's prime minister in the face of a mass student-led movement on Aug 5.
Bangladesh Bank officials investigating financial crimes have demanded bank details for Tulip and seven of her family members, and the Anti-Corruption Commission is running an investigation into whether she helped embezzle billions of pounds in a deal for a Russian-funded nuclear-power plant.
Among the candidates who may be considered by No 10 are the two ministerial aides to Rachel Reeves - Alistair Strathern and Imogen Walker.
Others who could be considered for the role include Callum Anderson, a parliamentary private secretary or PPS in the science and technology department, as well as Kanishka Narayan and Josh Simons, PPSs in the environment department, and Rachel Blake, whose constituency covers the City of London.
Lucy Rigby, the attorney general, and Torsten Bell, an economist who is also a ministerial aide, may also be considered strong options.
One Labour source said Tulip's referral "suggests that she's willing to fall on her sword" and that she was "on the way out".
Tulip, who is serving as the UK's economic secretary to the Treasury and the City minister, is under intense pressure to stand down from Keir Starmer's cabinet following revelations that she received a £700,000 flat in London as a gift, according to the UK newspaper, the Mail.
A spokesman for Tulip said it was "categorically wrong" to suggest the properties were linked to her support for the Awami League.
Tulip is also facing questions after a dissident lawyer claimed his family were threatened by Bangladeshi police enforcers after Tulip was questioned by journalists in London.
Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem, who had been detained in 2016, said his mother had written to Tulip asking her to look into the matter. Tulip says she raised the issue with the Foreign Office in the UK, who said they would raise the case with the High Commission in Dhaka.
Quasem, who was released after the ousting of Hasina, said Tulip could have tried to trace him and put his family's mind at ease about his whereabouts.
He said, "If she continues in office, it is detrimental to the image of Britain and British MPs globally. The UK is a hallmark of human rights, freedom of association, freedom of speech. Bangladesh's laws are based on British laws. But the failure to stand up for these values diminishes the UK's standing in Bangladesh and beyond."
An ally of Tulip said told The Times she had "no understanding of the circumstances around the raid in Bangladesh and was not involved in any aspect."
A spokesman for Tulip said, "No evidence has been presented for these allegations. Tulip has not been contacted by anyone on the matter and totally refutes the claims." —bdnews24.com
