Former UK State Minister issues legal notice to Dr. Yunus and ACC

POBNEWS24,Dhaka, June 23, 2025 : Former UK State Minister Tulip Siddique has accused Bangladesh’s chief advisor Dr. Muhammad Yunus and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) of trying to interfere in British politics and waging a “planned campaign” to tarnish his reputation, Sky News reported.
In the notice, Tulip said, “Dr. Yunus and the ACC’s main objective is to tarnish his reputation. They have also made these allegations to interfere in UK politics, especially to hinder Tulip’s own constituency, her political party and her work serving the country, which is in no way acceptable.”
Tulip sent the notice through UK-based law firm Stephenson Harwood LLP. The notice also criticized the interim government for not receiving a response to any of its previous letters.
In the legal notice, Tulip said that letters were sent to the ACC chairman and commissioners on March 18 and April 15. Then, a letter was sent to the chief advisor Yunus on June 4.
In the notice, the law firm Stephenson Harwood said, “We have not yet received a response to any of the letters. We have clearly stated in the letter that Tulip Siddique is the victim of a planned operation, behind which the chief advisor and the ACC are behind it. We have shown in our letter why every allegation against Tulip is untrue.”
In the legal notice, it criticized the decision not to grant Yunus a meeting, saying, “Tulip took the initiative to meet Yunus after hearing about Yunus’s visit to London. She wanted to discuss the ACC allegations with Yunus. But the chief advisor unfortunately failed to accept Tulip’s proposal.”
Meanwhile, Stephenson Harwood also criticized the reason Yunus gave for not meeting Tulip in his interview with the BBC. The notice says, ‘In the BBC Radio interview, Yunus was asked two specific questions. First, whether he was disappointed not to meet the British Prime Minister. Second, why he did not meet Tulip.’
It also says, ‘The Chief Advisor took a surprising stance on this issue. He said that day that this was a legal process and he did not want to interfere in it.’
The notice says, ‘We expected the Chief Advisor to properly verify the facts before filing a complaint against an elected representative of the UK. He should also have kept in mind that it is not appropriate to publicly criticize Tulip when it is claimed that an investigation is underway by the ACC.’
Stephenson Harwood believes that there could be two reasons for rejecting the offer to sit down with Tulip. First, the allegations made by the Chief Advisor against Tulip are false.
Stephenson Harwood says that Yunus had the opportunity to sit down with Tulip and discuss these false allegations openly. But he did not take that opportunity and decided to stay behind the ACC, which seems to us to be the second reason for the rejection of Tulip’s proposal.
A copy of the notice sent to the ACC Chairman has also been sent to the Chief Advisor. Tulip said in the notice, ‘Considering the overall situation, it is time for the Chief Advisor and the ACC to withdraw from these false campaigns.’
Stephenson Harwood says, ‘Please now ensure that the ACC’s investigation process is closed. We are making it clear that if you do not provide a proper response to this letter and our previous letters by June 30, Tulip Siddique will reasonably assume that the matter is over.’
It is worth noting that Tulip Siddique is the daughter of Sheikh Rehana, the daughter of Bangabandhu.