Labour Calls For Commons Vote On Military Action In Syria

Picture: An RAF Reaper drone

Labour has called for a fresh Commons vote on military action in Syria after the near-total defeat of so-called Islamic State (IS).

MPs overwhelmingly backed UK air strikes against IS in Syria, by 397 votes to 223, in 2015.

But with IS territory reclaimed and the United States-led coalition carrying out "stabilisation activities" in northern Syria, Labour has demanded a fresh chance to debate the issue.

Shadow international development minister Dan Carden told MPs that the activities now taking place in Syria were a "million miles" from what was agreed in 2015. He said:

"The United States has made clear that the objective of coalition forces in Syria is to carry out what they call 'stabilisation activities', in what they call 'liberated areas' in the north of the country and use those areas as a base to achieve the eventual transition of Syria from the Assad regime.

"Whatever one thinks of those activities one thing is clear, they are a million miles away from the mandate for military action given to the government by this House in 2015 which was exclusively to stop Syria becoming a safe haven for Daesh.

"So is it not time for the Government to come back to this house, set out its new strategy in Syria and seek a fresh mandate?"

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt did not respond directly to Mr Carden's calls for a vote, instead focusing on the "atrocities" perpetrated by IS and the actions taken by the UK.

She earlier said: "Daesh has been all but destroyed as a territorial entity in Iraq and Syria. It has lost over 98% of the territory it once held across both countries.

"The United Kingdom has led the way alongside our allies the United States and the government of Iraq in creating the global coalition against Daesh which enabled this progress."

Ms Mordaunt told MPs that the RAF had carried out almost 1,700 air strikes in Iraq and Syria since 2015.

She added: "But our work is yet not done.

"Daesh still holds pockets of territory in Syria and we encourage all partners including Turkey to remain focused on the counter Daesh campaign and avoid actions that undermine our shared efforts."