Tulip Siddiq accuses Bangladeshi authorities of forging documents to discredit her

Tulip Siddiq has accused Bangladeshi authorities of launching a politically driven smear campaign against her, allegedly using forged identity documents to link her more closely to Bangladesh.

According to documents obtained by The Telegraph, the Labour MP appears to have held both a Bangladeshi passport and a national identity card — contradicting her previous denials. The records suggest she received a passport in 2001 at age 19 and applied to renew it in 2011 at a Dhaka passport office. They also indicate she was issued a national ID in 2011.

However, Siddiq firmly rejected the documents' legitimacy, claiming they are fake and fabricated to portray her as corrupt. A spokesperson for the MP said Bangladeshi authorities have refused to cooperate with her legal team and have instead "resorted to forging documents," which they say clearly show signs of falsification.

Her team also flagged multiple inconsistencies in the documents. For example, they list an address belonging to her aunt, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, as her own, despite Siddiq's insistence that she has never lived in Dhaka. They further argue that the ID card's outdated format is suspicious, as newer "smart" IDs are easier to trace and authenticate.

The forged papers could reportedly be used in a corruption case against Siddiq in Bangladesh, where she is being tried in absentia. She is accused of using her relationship with her aunt to secure land for her family members — claims she denies as politically motivated fabrications.

While Siddiq's parents are Bangladeshi citizens — meaning she is eligible for dual citizenship — her legal team maintains that she has not held a Bangladeshi passport since childhood and has never had a national ID or voter card.

Over the years, Siddiq's comments on her ties to Bangladesh have varied. In a 2017 interview, she responded sharply to a journalist's question by saying: "I am British... I am not Bangladeshi," although sources close to her say this remark was taken out of context. At the time, she was being asked to intervene in the case of a detained British-trained lawyer in Bangladesh.

In contrast, during a 2015 visit to Dhaka for a school reunion, she appeared to express pride in her heritage, referring to Bangladesh as "our country" and celebrating the role of women in its political leadership.

Siddiq recently stepped down from her role as the UK's anti-corruption minister following concerns raised by the Prime Minister's ethics adviser over a potential conflict of interest. She maintains that the charges brought against her in Bangladesh are baseless and part of a politically charged vendetta.

Bangladeshi prosecutors, however, told The Telegraph that she has not formally renounced her Bangladeshi citizenship.