Paul Bristow sacking over Gaza letter is shameful - Islamic leader

A Conservative MP's sacking from government after he called for a ceasefire in Gaza was "disgraceful", an Islamic leader has said.

Peterborough MP Paul Bristow was told to resign after he wrote to the prime minister and said a permanent ceasefire would "save lives".

Number 10 said the comments "were not consistent... with collective responsibility".

Abdul-Muquaddas Choudhuri said Mr Bristow had "not done anything wrong".

Mr Bristow, who will continue to sit as an MP, served as Parliamentary private secretary to the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Michelle Donelan.

He wrote to Rishi Sunak about Gaza on 26 October, following meetings in his constituency, including with Peterborough's Joint Mosques Council.

Mr Choudhuri, who chairs the council, said the sacking was "absolutely disgraceful" and that he was "right calling for a ceasefire".

"We are very angry – we are very annoyed about that because he has not done anything wrong," said Mr Choudhuri.

"It was absolutely shameful of the government of Rishi Sunak to sack him just because of what he said."

Mr Bristow's letter, posted on Facebook, said there was a "great deal of sorrow and pain" among his constituents, some of whom had been "directly affected".

Speaking after his resignation, Mr Bristow said: "I fully understand why the prime minister's asked me to step down.

"Collective government is a key part of our democracy and it was a job I really enjoyed, so I do regret that.

"But at the end of the day I have a wider responsibility to my constituents.

"Thousands of people in my constituency care very strongly about this and I feel I am better placed now to talk openly about what's going on from the back benches rather than being part of the government payroll."

Mr Bristow has represented Peterborough since 2019 and has a majority of 2,580.

He added that it was "awfully cynical" to suggest he was courting votes ahead of a potential election "when we're talking about people losing their lives".

"Anyone who's seen me talk about human rights and talk about injustices over the many years that I've been a member of Parliament will see that it's perfectly consistent with what I've been saying," he added.

Mr Sunak has supported "specific pauses" in the conflict to enable aid delivery, but his spokesperson said he did not support a ceasefire as that would only benefit Hamas, which is considered a terrorist group by the UK.

A Number 10 spokesperson said: "Paul Bristow has been asked to leave his post in government following comments that were not consistent with the principles of collective responsibility."

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said "calls for a ceasefire are a call for Israel to surrender to Hamas".

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