UK Muslim lawmaker Warsi backed 'coconut' protester. Now she's out

Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, Britain's first Muslim cabinet minister, has resigned from the Conservative Party, citing its shift to the right and accusing it of hypocrisy.

Warsi, who served in former premier David Cameron's cabinet, announced her resignation on X (formerly Twitter), calling it a "sad day" as the party had become unrecognisable from the one she once represented.

She explained that her decision was driven by the party's treatment of various communities and its increasingly divisive policies.

Her resignation follows an ongoing Conservative Party investigation into her support for Marieha Hussain, a protester who shot to fame when she put up a placard showing the Conservative politicians Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman as "coconuts" during a protest.

Hussain was recently acquitted of a racially aggravated offence.

Warsi publicly celebrated Hussain's acquittal, which sparked internal backlash within the party. Refusing to retract her support, Warsi condemned the party's decision to revisit the issue behind closed doors.

In her post on X, Warsi expressed frustration with the party's direction, saying, "The current party is far removed from the one I joined."

She highlighted the "double standards" in the Conservatives' approach to different communities and reiterated her commitment to "speaking truth to power".

Warsi's resignation is the latest in her long-standing criticism of the party's handling of anti-Muslim hate and its rhetoric surrounding asylum seekers.

In 2022, she defended fellow Conservative MP Nusrat Ghani, who alleged she was dismissed from her ministerial role because colleagues were uncomfortable with her religion and her refusal to shield the party from accusations of Islamophobia.

In an interview with Sky News, Warsi argued the party treats anti-Muslim hate as "far less serious" than other forms of discrimination.

Warsi, who is of Pakistani descent, was appointed by Cameron in 2007.

In 2014, she resigned from her role as a minister in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office over the government's Gaza policy. At the time, she criticised the UK's stance as "morally indefensible" and called for a weapons embargo on Israel.

Throughout her political career, Warsi has been a vocal opponent of racism and anti-Muslim hate within the Conservative Party.

The Conservative Party responded, saying it had received complaints about Warsi's "divisive language" and had launched an investigation.

However, Warsi insists her decision reflects the party's increasing drift toward populist rhetoric and its failure to uphold principles of transparency and justice.