Another British government minister has resigned – making him the second to quit the government in less than a week following Baroness Warsi’s public protest over the UK’s reaction to the Israel-Hamas war.
Mark Simmonds, the Member of Parliament for Boston and Skegness resigned this morning for reasons yet to be disclosed – though Number 10 Downing Street says Simmonds’s resignation is unrelated to developments in the Middle East.
The Foreign Office was recently taken over by Philip Hammond MP, who has stepped up to the brief after the removal of William Hague MP, who is standing down from Parliament next year. It is understood that Simmonds is also due to quit parliament next year.
The Gov.UK website says that Simmonds has previously been the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Shadow Foreign Secretary, the Shadow Minister for Education, the Shadow Foreign Office Minister, the Shadow Minister for International Development, the Shadow Minister for Health, and most recently the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Foreign & Commonwealth Office.
Prime Minister David Cameron is still on holiday and the British Parliament is still in recess, though there have now been many asking for parliament to be recalled so that the Commons can debate British involvement in the Iraq action against ISIS.
Simmonds, who is thought to spend a fair amount of time in Putney in London, is to be replaced by James Duddridge MP.
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