Conservative Member of Parliament Speaks out Against War

A Conservative front bench MP [a leader within the Conservative Party], Jonathan Sayeed, has today spoken out against a war against Iraq.

He becomes the first member of Iain Duncan Smith's [Conservative Party] team to criticise the [Labor] government [of Prime Minister Tony Blair's] policy in the middle east.

Mr Sayeed, a Tory [Conservative] spokesman on environment, food and rural affairs, told the House of Commons that "to date the government has not made the case for war or done enough to dispel the impression of the inevitability of an unnecessary war."

Conservative Central Office were wrong footed [caught off guard] by Mr Sayeed's remarks and refused to comment on his stand.

It was unclear this evening what stance the [Conservative] leadership are likely to take but it would seem inevitable that he will be sacked [fired] from his front bench [leadership] position.

This will create the unusual situation where the first political casualty of a strike against Iraq is a Conservative [right-winger] rather than a Labour left-winger.

Ghada Razuki, of the stop the war coalition, has welcomed his stand. "Mr Sayeed's action illustrates the breadth of opposition to an attack on Iraq," she remarked.

"He is right to describe it as an 'unnecessary war,' she added," one in which thousands of innocent Iraqis will die".

"We know that thousands of people are lobbying their MPs to oppose a conflict, perhaps Mr Sayeed has felt the pressure of his constituents."