A Conservative MP has been sacked from his government job after breaking ranks to publicly urge Rishi Sunak to back a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Paul Bristow was dismissed as a ministerial aide at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on Monday after writing to the prime minister to call for an end to hostilities between Israel and Hamas to save lives.
Last week Sunak urged a pause in fighting in Gaza to allow more humanitarian aid to safely reach those without food, water or medicine but has stopped short of pushing for a full ceasefire.
Bristow, who No 10 said had been sacked because his comments “were not consistent with the principles of collective responsibility”, becomes the first frontbencher on either side of the Commons to lose their job for calling for an end to hostilities.
In a two-page letter to the prime minister last week, Bristow said Palestinian civilians in Gaza were facing a “collective punishment” as a result of Israel’s siege and airstrikes in the wake of the Hamas attack on 7 October that killed more than 1,400 Israelis.
“A permanent ceasefire would save lives and allow for a continued column of humanitarian aid [to] reach the people who need it the most,” he wrote.
In further comments on his Facebook page, Bristow said: “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 post to X, formerly known as Twitter, the Conservative peer Sayeeda Warsi said Bristow was on the “right side of history”.
Warsi added: “A number of Conservative colleagues are deeply disturbed by the government position on Gaza. This treatment reinforces the fear within our ranks of speaking out. Principles in politics should be applauded not punished.”
Downing Street said Bristow, the MP for Peterborough, had been asked to leave his job as a parliamentary private secretary for breaking rank.
A No 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.”
Labour frontbenchers are not expected to be punished by Keir Starmer if they break party ranks by demanding a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The Labour leader has backed the government’s diplomatic push for “humanitarian pauses” in the fighting to allow aid into Gaza and for people trapped in the bombarded territory to leave.
But with at least 12 shadow ministers – including Afzal Khan, Rushanara Ali, Andy Slaughter, Jess Phillips and Florence Eshalomi – defying Starmer’s position, the party leadership has resorted to “listening” rather than enforcing discipline.
On Monday the party suspended the whip from the backbench MP Andy McDonald, after he used the words “between the river and the sea” at a rally at the weekend to demonstrate his backing for Palestine.
Some pro-Palestinian protesters have chanted the controversial slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” during recent demonstrations in London. Originally a call for a secular state in historic Palestine between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea, it soon became a sectarian slogan and – when used in the context of Hamas – interpreted as an antisemitic call to drive all Jews from the region by whatever means.
A Labour spokesperson said: “The comments made by Andy McDonald at the weekend were deeply offensive, particularly at a time of rising antisemitism which has left Jewish people fearful for their safety.
“The chief whip has suspended the Labour whip from Andy McDonald, pending a investigation.”
However, McDonald, who quit Starmer’s top team in 2021 after a row over domestic policy, said he was supporting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
The Middlesbrough MP said: “We won’t rest until we have justice, until all people, Israelis and Palestinians, between the river and the sea can live in peaceful liberty. Free Palestine.”
In a statement published on social media after the party suspended him, McDonald said his words were intended as a “heartfelt plea for an end to the killings”, adding: “I am saddened to have received the news from the opposition chief whip that I have been placed under ‘precautionary suspension’ for a period of three months, which is reviewable pending an investigation by the Labour party. I look forward to engaging and fully-co-operating with the inquiry.”