A ministerial aide, Paul Bristow has been fired by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak after calling for a ceasefire in Gaza strip.
Bristow, the MP for Peterborough, had written to the Prime Minister last week demanding a ceasefire in order to save lives in the ongoing Isreal-Palestine war.
In the letter dated Thursday (October 26) , the MP noted that the killings of Palestinians by Israel has not made the latter a secured country.
The posts which appears to have been deleted from his website, but remains on Facebook,had the The MP said he felt “deeply grieved by the heart-breaking and devastating humanitarian crisis” unfolding in Gaza, having spoken with constituents and meeting with the Peterborough Joint Mosques Council.
“Thousands have been killed and more than one million now displaced. It is difficult to understand how this makes Israel more secure or indeed makes anything better.” He said.
Mr Bristow also said in a Facebook post “Ordinary Palestinians are not Hamas. I struggle to see how Israel is any safer following thousands of deaths of innocent Palestinians. They should not suffer collective punishment for the crimes of Hamas.”
In a direct reaction to his position, he was removed from his post as a parliamentary private secretary (PPS) in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
Downing Street said the Peterborough MP was asked to leave his job as a PPS for breaking rank as his comments were deemed inconsistent with the principles of collective responsibility. He will, however remain an MP and will keep the Tory whip.
The PPS is an unpaid junior ministerial position that compels MPs to follow the Government’s policy line in public.
Bristow, argued that “A permanent ceasefire would save lives and allow for a continued column of humanitarian aid (to) reach the people who need it the most even as he pronounced his support Mr Sunak’s call for what he termed “specific pauses” in the fighting to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
“The brutal Hamas attacks against innocent civilians are unforgivable. Hostages need to be released. It is challenging to understand how the present strategy of bombing Gaza will lead to the release of hostages.”
Mr Bristow added “ordinary people” were “not Hamas”, with the group’s attacks on Israel condemned as “brutal” and “unforgivable”.
Bristow accompanied an image of the letter on social media with the comment Palestinians should not “suffer collective punishment for the crimes of Hamas” – action which could be deemed a war crime