Musk calls Tulip 'corrupt'

Billionaire Elon Musk has tweeted about Tulip Siddiq who resigned as the UK's anti-corruption minister amid a controversy over links to her aunt, ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

"The Labour minister for child welfare shields the predators and their anti-corruption minister is corrupt," the billionaire posted on Twitter on 15 January, retweeting a post of Mario Nawfal.

Siddiq, who was responsible for tackling corruption in financial markets, was named last month in an anti-corruption investigation in Bangladesh against Hasina.

The investigation alleged that Siddiq's family was involved in brokering a 2013 deal with Russia for a nuclear power plant in Bangladesh in which large sums of money were said to have been embezzled.

Tulip Siddiq said that she was quitting as economic secretary to the Treasury, saying the issue was becoming "a distraction from the work of the government."

The minister faced further questions about her links to her aunt's government after reports in the Sunday Times and Financial Times newspapers alleged that she had used two London apartments given to her by associates of Bangladesh's Awami League, led by Hasina.

Tulip's independent adviser Magnus said Siddiq hadn't breached ministerial standards, but given her role in government "it is regrettable that she was not more alert to the potential reputational risks — both to her and the government — arising from her close family's association with Bangladesh."