Sunak fires Tory MP who called for ceasefire in Gaza Strip

The British Prime Minister, the Conservative Rishi Sunak, has dismissed the Conservative MP Paul Bristow from his duties at the Ministry of Culture for breaking the official line by calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, a government spokesperson has reported.

“Paul Bristow has been asked to leave his position in the Government following comments that were not consistent with the principles of collective responsibility,” which forces members of the Executive to speak with a single voice, the source said.

The parliamentary secretary at the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Culture, whose role is to assist the minister on duty, wrote a letter to Sunak urging him to advocate for “a permanent ceasefire” and arguing that the Palestinians are being subjugated by Israel. to “collective punishment.”

Rishi Sunak's government has “unequivocally” defended Israel's right to self-defense from the beginning and calls for “humanitarian pauses” for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, but considers that a ceasefire would benefit the Islamist group Hamas.

This is the first member of the Tory Executive to publicly distance himself from the official position, while the leader of the Labor Party, Keir Starmer, faces a growing rebellion in the opposition party due to his position similar to that of the prime minister.