UNDER-FIRE City Minister Tulip Siddiq quit the government today in a fresh blow to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s shaky administration.

Ms Siddiq has been at the centre of allegations of enjoying financial benefits from top members of the Awami League, which ruled Bangladesh until its overthrow last year.

She resigned despite being cleared of wrongdoing by the government’s adviser on ministerial standards Laurie Magnus to whom she had referred herself.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, she said that her position had become a “distraction,” a favourite political euphemism for untenable.

Ms Siddiq is the niece of ousted former Bangladesh premier Sheik Husina and also a close associate of Sir Keir.

It has transpired that the City Minister, responsible for policing financial corruption, had lived, sometimes without payment, in several properties with links to senior members of the Awami League.

She insisted that all arrangements had been above-board and properly declared, but the new Bangladesh government has filed legal charges against her.

Bangladesh’s anti-corruption commission launched a case against Ms Hasina and her family, including Ms Siddiq, over an alleged seizure of large and lucrative land plots near the capital, Dhaka.

“Sheikh Hasina, in collaboration with some officials, allocated plots for herself and her family members,” said director general Akhter Hossain.

While Mr Magnus did not find wrongdoing on Ms Siddiq’s part, he did advise Sir Keir to “consider her ongoing responsibilities.”

The public will however be dismayed that another leading Labour figure has fallen foul of the simple requirement to pay for their own accommodation.

Ms Siddiq has been replaced in her Treasury role by MP Emma Reynolds.