David Cameron replaces Baroness Warsi with House of Lords chief whip
DAVID Cameron moved swiftly to replace Baroness Warsi yesterday after her dramatic resignation over the Government’s stance on the conflict in Gaza.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns, Tory chief whip in the Lords, will take over as Minister of State at the Foreign Office and will attend Cabinet meetings.
Pressure was mounting on the Prime Minister yesterday as his deputy Nick Clegg backed Muslim peer Baroness Warsi and her resignation split opinion among Tory backbenchers.
Last night it was reported Foreign Office minister Hugo Swire had also considered quitting, but he denied it.
I don’t think shouting at them from London is going to make a difference. We need to do the hard yards of diplomacy
Lady Warsi, whose resignation took the leadership by surprise, called the Government’s policy on Gaza “morally indefensible”.
But former Foreign Office minister Sir Hugh Robertson said he did not think the UK’s stance had changed much in the past fortnight.
The Tory MP told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I don’t think shouting at them from London is going to make a difference. We need to do the hard yards of diplomacy.”
A No 10 spokesman said: “We welcome the current ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, and continue to call for a political solution to be found.”