Morally Indefensible': Prominent U.K. Cabinet Official Abruptly Resigns Over Gaza Conflict

Britain's first Muslim female cabinet member who has implored Christians in the U.K. to be "proud" of their faith and who once argued that religion should play a bigger role in public life has abruptly resigned, citing intense disagreement with her government's Gaza response.

"With deep regret I have this morning written to the Prime Minister & tendered my resignation. I can no longer support Govt policy on #Gaza," Sayeeda Hussain Warsi, who served as senior minister of state at the Foreign Office and minister for faith and communities at the Department for Communities and Local Government, announced on Twitter Tuesday morning.

Warsi also shared the resignation letter she sent to Prime Minister David Cameron explaining the abrupt departure. In it, she outlined her grievances, charging that the language officials have used to address the Middle Eastern crisis has been "morally indefensible."

"My view has been that our policy in relation to the Middle East Peace Process generally but more recently our approach and language during the current crisis in Gaza is morally indefensible, is not in Britain's national interest and will have a long term detrimental impact on our reputation internationally and domestically," she wrote.

Warsi was gracious in the letter, fondly reflecting upon her experiences in government and specifically citing the work she has been able to do to combat anti-Semitism and Islamophobia while helping bring awareness to the plight of Christian minority groups across the globe.

The politician explained that she has learned the art of reconciling passion, idealism and realism, but that she must be certain that she can live with the tenets and positions she supported and stood by while in office.

"I always said that long after life in politics I must be able to live with myself for the decisions I took or the decisions I supported," Warsi continued. "By staying in Government at this time I do not feel I can be sure of that. It is with that regret that I am writing to resign."

Read the letter below:

Image via Twitter @

She later told the Huffington Post U.K. that the British government hasn't acted as an "honest broker" in the ongoing Gaza conflict and called for an arms embargo against Israel, despite saying that she is an overall defender of the Jewish state.

"It appalls me that the British government continues to allow the sale of weapons to a country, Israel, that has killed almost 2,000 people, including hundreds of kids, in the past four weeks alone," Warsi said. "The arms exports to Israel must stop."

Read the entire interview here.