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Bangladesh’s interim leader Professor Muhammad Yunus has refused to meet Labour MP Tulip Siddiq to discuss corruption allegations against her during his visit to London, reports BBC online.

Yunus told the BBC the allegations were a ‘court matter’ and said he had confidence in Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission, which is investigating Siddiq.

The ACC has accused Siddiq of illegally receiving land from the regime of her aunt Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted as Bangladesh’s prime minister last year.

Siddiq, a former treasury minister, has denied the allegations and accused the Bangladeshi authorities of a ‘politically motivated smear campaign’.

In a letter, Siddiq requested a meeting with Yunus, a Nobel-prize winning economist who has led an interim government in Bangladesh since a student-led protest movement toppled Hasina from power.

Siddiq said a meeting ‘might also help clear up the misunderstanding perpetuated by the Anti-Corruption Commission in Dhaka’.

In an interview with the BBC, Yunus was asked whether he would meet Siddiq during his four-day visit to the UK.

‘No I’m not because it’s a legal procedure,’ Yunus said. ‘I don’t want to interrupt a legal procedure. Let the procedure continue.’

Siddiq has argued Bangladeshi authorities have not provided any evidence to back up their allegations and refuse to engage with her lawyers.

Responding to those arguments, Yunus said: ‘It’s a court matter.

‘A court will decide if enough materials are available to pursue the case or cancel it’.

When asked if prosecutors in Bangladesh needed to be more transparent and provide evidence of wrongdoing to Siddiq, Yunus said: ‘As chief adviser I have full confidence in our Anti-Corruption Commission and they are doing the right thing.’

On the question of whether he would seek Siddiq’s extradition if she was found guilty of any crimes in Bangladesh, Yunus said: ‘If it is part of the legal procedure, of course.’

In a statement, Siddiq said she was disappointed Yunus had refused to meet her.

She said: ‘He’s been at the heart of a political vendetta based on fantasy accusations with no evidence relentlessly briefed to the media.

‘If this was a serious legal process they would engage with my lawyers rather than sending bogus correspondence to an address in Dhaka where I have never lived.

‘I hope he is now serious about ending the practice of smearing me in the press and allowing the courts to establish that their investigations have nothing to do with me — a British citizen and a proud member of the UK Parliament.’