Tulip Siddiq: MP and niece of Bangladesh PM asked to help free barrister abducted by men apparently linked to government

At the forefront of the campaign to free Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been her local MP Tulip Siddiq.

Now the Hampstead MP is being asked to use her influence to free another person who campaigners say has been locked up illegally – a British-trained barrister in Bangladesh who was abducted by men thought to be working for the government.

The reason for the Tulip Siddiq connection – her aunt is the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Our Chief Correspondent Alex Thomson reports.

(Watch the full unedited exchange with Tulip Siddiq MP below.)

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UPDATE: Tulip Siddiq MP has issued the following statement on Twitter:

“I want to apologise unreservedly for my comments to Channel 4’s producer, which were an off-hand and ill-judged attempt to deal with what I felt was a hostile situation. I would never want to upset her and I hope she accepts my apology.

“With regard to the Channel 4 News report itself, and as I made clear prior to the event on Saturday, I was born in London and serve as a British Member of Parliament. The focus of my work is spent on delivering for the residents of Hampstead and Kilburn who elected me to represent them.

“The fact that some members of my family are involved in politics in Bangladesh has long been a matter of public record which I have not hidden from. That said, I have no capability nor desire to influence politics in Bangladesh.”