Sir Keir Starmer is under fresh pressure over his stance on the conflict in Gaza after a shadow minister became the first frontbencher to quit in protest at his leader’s refusal to back a ceasefire.
Imran Hussain, the Labour MP for Bradford East, said he was quitting his role as shadow minister for work to be able to “strongly advocate” for a ceasefire.
The Labour leader is fighting to maintain discipline in his top team on the Israel-Hamas conflict. At least 18 frontbenchers have backed a ceasefire while almost 50 councillors have resigned.
Thge resignation comes as left-wing Labour MP Zarah Sultana has tabled an amendment to the King’s Speech calling for an “immediate ceasefire”.
The amendment has so far supported by MPs from six different political parties and could be voted on next Wednesday at the conclusion of the King’s Speech debate.
Labour left-wingers John McDonnell, Rosena Allin-Khan and Richard Burgon have all backed the move.
One Labour frontbencher told The Independent Mr Hussain’s resignation could put pressure on others in the party who have spoken out on the ceasefire.
They said: “It was always a surprise Imran came back on the front bench as he was a big Jeremy [Corbyn] fan. It will put a bit of pressure on a few colleagues, but after four weeks I don’t think it will be a game changer.”
In his letter to Sir Keir, Mr Hussain said he was “deeply troubled” by the Labour leader’s interview on LBC in which he appeared to suggest that the Israeli government had a right to withhold water and power from citizens in Gaza.
“It is with a heavy heart that I am writing to tender my resignation as shadow minister for the new deal for working people after eight years on the Labour Party frontbench,” Mr Hussain said.
He said he had been “proud” to work alongside Sir Keir and his deputy, Angela Rayner, but could not “in all good conscience” push for a cessation of hostilities while remaining on the frontbench.
Mr Hussain said: “It has become clear that my view on the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza differs substantially from the position you have adopted.”
Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson said that Mr Hussain had “reached his own decision” on the matter. She maintained that the party leadership did not see a ceasefire as the right move.
“The difficulty with calls for a ceasefire is that it risks freezing the conflict in time, and also allowing Hamas to regroup and perpetrate further atrocities which they said, given the chance, they would absolutely do time and again.”
She told Times Radio: “I would urge colleagues to always carefully choose their words where it comes to fast-moving international events, and where it isn’t always clear or apparent very quickly what is happening on the ground.”
Sir Keir has insisted collective responsibility remains important but has so far declined to say whether frontbenchers would face being sacked for breaking ranks to urge an end to fighting.
A Labour Party spokesman said: “Labour fully understands calls for a ceasefire … But a ceasefire now will only freeze this conflict and would leave hostages in Gaza and Hamas with the infrastructure and capability to carry out the sort of attack we saw on October 7.”
They added: “International law must be followed at all times and innocent civilians must be protected. Labour is calling for humanitarian pauses in the fighting.
“This is the best and most realistic way to address the humanitarian emergency in Gaza and is a position shared by our major allies.”
Mr Hussain has been on Labour’s frontbench for almost eight years, serving under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership as shadow international development minister in 2016.