A key role of the City Minister is to fight corruption in Britain’s financial sector.
So how troubling that the current incumbent of this Treasury post is herself under investigation for embezzlement.
Tulip Siddiq is being probed over a claim she and her family siphoned off £4 billion intended for a Kremlin-funded nuclear power plant in her native Bangladesh.
The allegation is part of a formal inquiry by the Bangladesh government into her aunt Sheikh Hasina Wazed, an autocrat who ruled the country for 15 years.
Given the seriousness of the accusation, how is it possible for Ms Siddiq to remain in post? After all, she has influence over billions of pounds of British taxpayers’ money.
The Labour MP may, of course, be entirely innocent. But surely the most prudent and honourable course of action would be to step down, pending her name being cleared. Until then, a cloud of suspicion will inevitably hang over her.
Indeed, imagine if a Tory minister had found themselves embroiled in an identical scandal.
Labour would shriek for resignations, the BBC would frenziedly live blog, and Emily Maitlis and the Lefty commentariat would post endless overwrought tweets.
Sir Keir Starmer says he retains full confidence in Ms Siddiq, who has not yet commented on the allegations.
But what due diligence did the Prime Minister do on Ms Siddiq before he gave her the job?
Once more, this raises questions over Sir Keir’s judgment. Where suitability for high office is concerned, many of his Cabinet appointments have been found wanting.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy has little understanding of diplomacy and sparse knowledge of the world (he notoriously claimed Libya was ‘next door’ to Syria).
Chancellor Rachel Reeves, whose misleading CV called her an economist, has sent the economy into a tailspin. Louise Haigh, the PM’s erstwhile transport secretary, quit over the revelation she was a convicted fraudster. And Sir Keir himself has been beset by sleaze allegations.
No one has been more pious in lecturing the country about bringing integrity back to politics. Yet his government is already one of the dishonourable in living memory.
So what is the PM going to do about Ms Siddiq? Act decisively and ask her to step down – or sit on his hands? We all know the answer to that question.
Draining our money
It is a scandal families are expected to pay yet more to bail out the catastrophic incompetence and greed of the water firms.
Ofwat, the spineless regulator, disgracefully caved into the companies’ demands for more money – allowing them to raise bills by an eye-watering 36 per cent (an average of £157) over the next five years.
The utility giants say higher charges will fund investment to fix leaks, build reservoirs and stop our seas and rivers being used to dump raw sewage. And yes, this is a fantastically expensive undertaking.
But if they think the public welcomes bigger bills in return for better infrastructure, they are seriously deluded.
Had these companies not racked up mind-boggling debts while trousering billions in dividends and bonuses, they wouldn’t need to fleece customers further for a basic service that should already be provided.
Ministers have ordered an independent review of the sector, but this will inevitably take time when urgent action is needed.
Holding executives criminally liable for violating the environment would be a start.
As things stand, this dysfunctional industry is failing on almost every level.
Source: Daily Mail
BDST: 1750 HRS, DEC 20, 2024
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