David Cameron makes case for air strikes in Syria

UK air strikes on terror organisation ISIL fighters in Syria would be an act of “self-defence”, Prime Minister David Cameron has said.

Laying out his case for military action to the House of Commons, Cameron said the UK “is already in the top tier of countries that ISIL is targeting".

While a “full political settlement” is needed in the region, he said, “the threats to our interests and to our people are such that we cannot afford to stand aside and not to act”. Military action would be accompanied by moves to deliver a democratic government in Syria, he added.

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Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn asked whether air strikes would make any military difference.

"The question must now be whether extending the UK bombing from Iraq to Syria is likely to reduce, or increase, that threat and whether it will counter, or spread, the terror campaign Isis is waging in the Middle East," he said.

Support from ground troops would come from 70,000 moderate Syrian forces, not from British forces or by allying with Assad’s Syrian army, Cameron said. “We need an ISIL first policy.”

But there were questions about whether the 70,000 figure was correct.

Conservative MP John Baron warned of a “repetition of the errors” made in going into the Iraq war in 2003, but Cameron said he was happy to show his evidence from security advisers to select committees to avoid any doubt over the motives. "We want to learn from that conflict," he said.

Labour’s Yvette Cooper said “the PM has made a strong moral and legal case... but the real question is the practical one", warning that appearing to side with President Assad may contribute to further recruitment to the terrorist cause.

The SNP’s Commons leader Angus Robertson told the Commons the party supports a ceasefire in Syria and a political solution to the conflict, but didn’t rule out the prospect of the SNP group voting for airstrikes if key concerns from the Foreign Affairs select committee were answered.

“Two years ago the Prime Minister urged us to bomb the opponents of Daesh, which would probably have strengthened this terrorist organisation. Today the Prime Minister wants us to launch a bombing campaign without effective ground support or a fully-costed reconstruction and stability plan.

“The Prime Minister has asked us to consider his plan. We have listened closely, however key questions posed by the Foreign Affairs select committee remain unanswered.
 
“Unless the Prime Minister answers these questions satisfactorily, the Scottish National Party will not vote for air strikes in Syria,” he said.

The House of Commons is expected to vote on the proposition within weeks, with Labour leader Corbyn under pressure to allow his MPs a free vote on the issue.