Tulip Siddiq made “threatening” comments to a pregnant journalist pointedly telling her “labour is hard” after being questioned over links to her despot aunt, according to The Telegraph.

Resurfaced footage reveals that the embattled anti-corruption minister also warned reporters to be “very careful” after they asked about the case of a British-Bangladeshi lawyer disappeared by Sheikh Hasina’s regime.

Ms Siddiq, now the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, is the niece of Hasina, 77, the longest-serving prime minister of Bangladesh who was ousted last year.

During her 15-year tenure, opponents were attacked, arrested and secretly imprisoned as the regime carried out extrajudicial killings.

Among those abducted by the regime was the British-trained barrister Ahmad bin Quasem, who was detained for eight years in a secret prison and only released after the fall of Hasina.

Ms Siddiq was questioned by Channel 4 News about the case in 2017. While the MP was a prominent campaigner for the release of the British-Iranian national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe from prison in Iran, she was asked why she would not make “one phone call” to her aunt to help Mr Quasem.

When asked about his case, Ms Siddiq told the journalists to “be very careful”.

She said: “I’m a Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn, I’m a British member of Parliament. Be very careful. I’m not Bangladeshi and the person you are talking about, I have no idea about their case. That is the end of my statement.”

An aide then put his hand in front of the camera and told reporters their questions were “absolutely desperate” and to “stop filming”.

At the end of the interview, Ms Siddiq told Daisy Ayliffe: “Thanks for coming Daisy, hope you have a great birth, because child labour is hard. See you.”

In his report of the encounter, Alex Thomson, the chief correspondent for Channel 4 News, described Ms Siddiq’s comments as “apparently threatening” while the MP later admitted her words had been “ill-judged”.

Ms Ayliffe reshared her experience last week in a post on X.

She said: “When I asked Qs of Tulip Siddiq about her political links to Bangladesh in 2017 she warned me to “be v careful” then complained to Ofcom, the police & my bosses. (No complaints were upheld.) Fortunately what actually happened was recorded. If not, she could have cost me my job.”

She also noted: “Far back as 2017 Keir Starmer was warned about Siddiq’s links to this foreign regime. One constituent asked him why Siddiq’s work for the Awami League was ‘concealed from the people of Hampstead’’ Starmer stood by Siddiq later appointing her anti-corruption minister.”

The producer also reposted the footage last month and it has been shared by Michael Crick, the broadcaster, who said: “The brilliant TV producer Daisy Ayliffe did lots of work on Tulip Siddiq for C4 News, so Starmer must have known her Bangladeshi links might be a problem.”

In a statement published at the time, Ms Siddiq said: “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.”

Speaking this week, Mr Quasem said that police raided his family home in Bangladesh after the Channel 4 journalists asked Ms Siddiq about his case.

He told the Financial Times that hours before the Channel 4 footage aired, security personnel, including members of the Rapid Action Battalion, a unit of the Bangladesh police widely accused of human rights abuses, surrounded the family’s home.

Fresh questions over the exchange come after Ms Siddiq referred herself to the Prime Minister’s ethics advisor over allegations surrounding her use of properties in London.

Sir Laurie Magnus, who advises Sir Keir Starmer on enforcing the ministerial code, will now look into claims about Ms Siddiq’s past use of two flats in London.

One, in Hampstead, north London, was given to her to use by her teenage sister Azmina.

The sisters are nieces to Hasina, who was removed from power after uprisings against her rule.

The other property, in central London, was reportedly given to Ms Siddiq by a businessman linked to her aunt’s political party, the Awami League.

Ms Siddiq is also being investigated in Bangladesh over a £4 billion embezzlement probe into her aunt.

The country’s anti-corruption commission is investigating whether she helped her aunt siphon off funds intended for a nuclear power plant.

The claims were made in a High Court petition from Bobby Hajjaj, a senior political opponent of Hasina, who accused Ms Siddiq of helping to broker a deal with Russia in 2013 that overinflated the price of a new nuclear power plant in Bangladesh.

Sir Keir Starmer has said he has confidence in Ms Siddiq, while sources close to the minister have dismissed the embezzlement allegations as “spurious”.

Referring herself to Sir Laurie this week, Ms Siddiq wrote: “In recent weeks I have been the subject of media reporting, much of it inaccurate, about my financial affairs and my family’s links to the former government of Bangladesh.

“I am clear that I have done nothing wrong. However, for the avoidance of doubt, I would like you to independently establish the facts about these matters. I will obviously ensure you have all the information you need to do this.”

Labour has been contacted for comment.