UK: Baroness Warsi resigns from Conservative Party after being investigated over 'coconuts' post
A former cabinet minister and chair of Britain's Conservative Party has resigned after being placed under investigation by the party over social media posts on the notorious "coconut" trial earlier this month.
In her resignation statement, Warsi warned that the party has moved too far right, citing "double standards in its treatment of different communities".
"It is with a heavy heart that I have today informed my whip and decided for now to no longer take the Conservatives' whip,” Baroness Sayeeda Warsi said on Thursday evening.
After her resignation, it emerged that the party had launched an investigation into the peer over social media posts about a court case in which a protester was arrested and charged for holding a placard depicting politicians Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman as “coconuts”, during a pro-Palestine march in central London.
Marieha Hussain was found not guilty of a racially aggravated public order offence on 13 September.
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After her acquittal, Warsi posted a photo of herself on X drinking from a coconut, wishing Hussain "many congratulations".
This one’s for Marieha Hussain 🥰
— Sayeeda Warsi (@SayeedaWarsi) September 15, 2024
Many many congratulations.#mariehahussain #coconuttrial pic.twitter.com/Gks3g1SHtk
A Conservative party spokesperson said on Thursday night: “Complaints were received regarding divisive language allegedly used by Baroness Sayeeda Warsi. Baroness Warsi was informed an investigation was about to begin earlier this week.
“We have a responsibility to ensure that all complaints are investigated without prejudice.”
Warsi then hit back, saying: “A court of law found Marieha Hussain not guilty. Whatever Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman think of that decision, that is the rule of law and they are not above the law.
“I was subsequently asked to delete my public support for Marieha – I refused to do so … The case was due to be conducted in private behind closed doors, I was not told who the complainant was and this is material considering the detail of bad faith practice the court heard about during the trial.
"I was also told I could not discuss the matter with others. It was effectively to be a secret retrial of the #coconuttrial … I was not prepared to accept this.
“I felt it appropriate in the circumstances to resign my whip and look forward to dealing with these issues openly and transparently in the coming weeks and months.”
'Far removed from the Party I joined'
Warsi was the first Muslim to serve in a British cabinet, under David Cameron's premiership. In August 2014 she resigned from government citing its "morally indefensible" policy on Gaza.
Since then she has criticised the Conservative Party over its alleged problems with Islamophobia and rhetoric on asylum seekers.
“I am a Conservative and remain so but sadly the current Party are far removed from the Party I joined and served in Cabinet,” she wrote on X.
“My decision is a reflection of how far right my Party has moved and the hypocrisy and double standards in its treatment of different communities”.
Rcently, Warsi publicly clashed with Tory leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick after he called for Muslims who shout “Allahu Akbar”, meaning “God is great”, in the street to be immediately arrested.
After Jenrick clarified his comments by saying he was referring to "aggressive chanting", Warsi hit back, saying: "Not prepared to let you and other colleagues get away with this gaslighting and playing these games anymore - too much damage has already been done to our country and it deserves better than this populist nonsense."
Her resignation comes as she is slated to publish a new book, Muslims Don’t Matter, saying that Islamophobia has become mainstream and worsened in recent years - including in the Conservative Party.
A majority of Conservative members regard Islam as a threat to the British "way of life", according to a poll earlier this year by racism monitoring group Hope Not Hate.
The poll of 521 Conservative Party members found that 58 percent thought Islam was a threat to the British way of life, in contrast to the general public, only 30 percent of whom think the same.
52 percent of party members also agreed that there were "no-go areas" in the UK for non-Muslims, a far-right conspiracy theory.
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