Tulip Siddiq and Sir Keir Starmer are friends and fellow Camden MPs

SHE called it a “distraction”, so did her friend and leader – others used far less benign terms.

Whatever you call it, in the end Tulip Siddiq’s resignation as the Labour government’s anti-corruption minister had felt like an inevitability following several days of national coverage about her financial affairs and reporters camped out on her doorstep.

She had faced questions over how she and her sister had been gifted properties to live in by business figures allegedly linked to the Awami League. This is the party driven from power in Bangladesh in a coup last August, leaving behind a trail of accusations of human rights abuses, including claims that opponents were abducted.

Its now deposed autocratic leader, Sheikh Hasina – as had been well documented since Ms Siddiq first emerged on Camden’s political scene as a council election candidate – is the MP’s aunt.

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A photo of the family meeting Vladimir Putin during the signing of a nuclear infrastructure deal has cropped up repeatedly, and might also have been described as a distraction, given the incoming Bangladesh authority is investigating the agreement and named Ms Siddiq in legal papers.

She has denied any wrong-doing and questioned the accuracy of reports on this aspect, while friends say drawing her into opponents’ embezzlement claims was a “hit job”.

But almost as soon as she had pressed send on her resignation message to Sir Keir Starmer, the prime minister, some of her opponents back in Hampstead and Highgate insisted that stepping away from her treasury job would not suffice.

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In a statement issued this week, the Conservative Association in her constituency demanded a parliamentary by-election.

“Her constituents deserve a representative who prioritises integrity and accountability – qualities that this scandal has sadly undermined. Starmer’s inability to act swiftly reflects a worrying lack of leadership. Protecting a close ally embroiled in a corruption scandal is not the hallmark of a prime minister who puts Britain first.

“The Hampstead and Highgate Conservative Association calls for immediate action to restore the integrity of our parliamentary representation.

“We urge Tulip Siddiq to resign and for a by-election to be held allowing the constituents of Hampstead and Highgate to elect a representative who truly upholds the principles of honesty and public service.”

Sheikh Hasina at the Houses of Parliament on the day Tulip Siddiq delivered her maiden Commons speech

The chances of such a course of action appeared slim, but it is the first time the local Tory party has heavily criticised Ms Siddiq in public over her connections.

Ms Siddiq had referred herself to parliament’s ethics watchdog, Sir Laurie Magnus, who reported this week that he had not been able to acquire all the historical financial documents but that his verdict was that she had not breached a ministerial code.

He said, however: “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.”

Ms Siddiq has at times said she had no sway over her aunt’s regime and recused herself from debates involving Bangladesh. But when it came to her maiden speech in the Commons in 2015, Sheikh Hasina made sure she was there to see it delivered.

Critics said the connection with political office in the UK – even if just as a family tie – helped the Awami League leader cleanse her international standing amid the allegations about how her opponents in Bangladesh were being treated.

Ms Siddiq said she had mistakenly thought that a flat in King’s Cross had simply been paid for with the help of her parents.

Sir Laurie’s note of criticism has been seen as damning by her opponents, but his findings that she had not broken any rules saw Sir Keir hint that she would one day rejoin Labour’s frontbench team.

She said in her letter to him: “It is clear that continuing in my role as Economic Secretary to the Treasury is likely to be a distraction from the work of government.

“My loyalty is and always will be to this Labour government and the programme of national renewal and transformation it has embarked upon. I have therefore decided to resign from my ministerial position.”

Sir Keir, a friend and her fellow Camden MP, said in reply that there had been no evidence found of financial improprieties, adding that she had made a “difficult decision” and that “the door remains open for you going forward”.