“With deep regret I have this morning written to the Prime Minister (and) tendered my resignation. I can no longer support Govt policy on #Gaza,” Warsi said on her official Twitter feed.
LONDON – Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, Britain’s first female Muslim Cabinet minister, resigned from the David Cameron government saying the country’s stand on the Gaza conflict is “morally indefensible” and she can no longer support it.
Warsi said she could no longer support the government’s policy on the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Warsi, a baroness who sits in Britain’s upper house of parliament, became Britain’s first Muslim to serve in Cabinet in 2010 but was later demoted to be a senior minister of state at the Foreign Office and a minister for faith and communities.
“With deep regret I have this morning written to the Prime Minister (and) tendered my resignation. I can no longer support Govt policy on #Gaza,” Warsi, 43, said on her official Twitter feed.
Though no longer a full member of Cabinet she still had the right to attend Cabinet meetings. It was not immediately clear whether she was resigning from both her ministerial roles.
While the British government has repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, Prime Minister David Cameron has come under criticism from the opposition Labour party for refusing to describe Israel’s actions as disproportionate.
Last week, foreign secretary Philip Hammond said the situation in Gaza had become “intolerable”
While the British Government has repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, Cameron has come under criticism from political opponents for what they say has been his reluctance to condemn Israel’s actions in stronger terms.
Warsi (43), who was previously chairman of the Conservative Party, became the first female Muslim Cabinet minister when Cameron took over as Prime Minister in 2010. In a later reshuffle, she was demoted to the middle-ranking post in the Foreign Office. She also holds the charge of Faith and Communities portfolio.
In recent days, Warsi had used Twitter to ask for details of protests, and in one message wrote: “Can people stop trying to justify the killing of children. Whatever our politics, there can never be justification, surely only regret.”
She said the decision “has not been easy” but there is “great unease” within the Foreign Office over “the way recent decisions are being made”.
Cameron, who is holidaying in Portugal with his family, in a statement said he regretted Warsi’s decision to step down and thanked her for her “excellent” work. —
