UK minister Sayeeda Warsi quits over Gaza

Sayeeda Warsi

British Foreign Office minister Baroness Sayeeda Warsi has resigned from the government, saying its policy on the crisis in Gaza is “morally indefensible”.

She wrote on her Twitter feed that she was leaving with “deep regret”.

Warsi tweet

Lady Warsi, who was previously chairman of the Conservative Party, became the first female Muslim cabinet minister when David Cameron took office in 2010.

The prime minister thanked her for her “excellent work”, adding that he wanted an “unconditional ceasefire” in Gaza.

Lady Warsi

But Chancellor George Osborne called her resignation “disappointing and frankly unnecessary”.

Sayeeda Warsi resignation letter

Lady Warsi grew up in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, and worked as a solicitor before entering politics. She was demoted from the cabinet to a middle-ranking Foreign Office post in 2012, being made minister for faith and communities at the same time.

Sayeeda Warsi Cameron