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Baroness Warsi resigns over Gaza conflict

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Foreign Office minister Baroness Warsi has resigned from the cabinet because she can no longer support the government's position on Gaza.
 
She made the announcement via a tweet posted today at 9.10am. It said: “With deep regret I have this morning written to the Prime Minister &  tendered my resignation. I can no longer support Govt policy on #Gaza."
 
Warsi was a Conservative Party chairman and the first Muslim to sit in the cabinet. 
 
Her move comes amid escalating pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron to take tougher action to resolve the conflict. Warsi has become increasingly vocal about the issue in recent weeks.
 

In her resignation letter, which she posted on Twitter at 10.10am, she described the government's approach and language during the current crisis in Gaza as "morally indefensible", saying that it is "not in Britain's national interest and will have a long term detrimental impact on our reputation internationally and domestically".

She added that the decision to resign "had not been easy", but that there was a "great unease across the Foreign Office, among both Ministers and their senior officials, in the way recent decisions are being made". 

"I always said that long after life in politics I must be able to live with myself for the decisions I took or the decisions I supported. By staying in Government at this time I do not feel I can be sure of that."

Baroness Warsi's resignation letter (Source: Twitter)

In response to Warsi's decision, a spokesperson for Downing street issued the following statement: “The Prime Minister regrets that Baroness Warsi has decided to stand down and is grateful for the excellent work that she has done both as a Minister and in Opposition.
 
“Our policy has always been consistently clear – the situation in Gaza is intolerable and we’ve urged both sides to agree to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.”