David Cameron has urged MPs to back United Kingdom airstrikes against Islamic State in Syria, saying that the terrorist organisation is using the sanctuary of northern Syria to launch plots with deadly intent against the British people.
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In parliament on Thursday, Cameron made the case for air strikes to be extended into Syria, as dealing with the threat posed by the so-called Islamic State should not be “outsourced”, with numerous UK’s allies calling it into military action.
Diane Abbott – one of Mr Corbyn’s few allies in the shadow cabinet – said Labour MPs who backed David Cameron over air strikes would put themselves at odds with grassroots party members.
But yesterday both Shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn and Labour Deputy Leader Tom Watson said they had no intention of quitting despite both defying Mr Corbyn to support airstrikes.
A showdown between Corbyn and dissenting Labour MPs is expected at a meeting on Monday where the party is expected to decide whether its lawmakers can vote freely on the issue or must adhere to a party line.
The turmoil in Labour ranks complicate Mr Cameron’s calculations as to whether he has got the numbers to win a Commons vote on extending air strikes against IS – now restricted to Iraq – into Syria.
He said ministers would give MPs the chance to reflect over the weekend on Mr Cameron’s case before deciding whether to press for a Commons vote.
The issue now is whether what the Prime Minister is proposing strengthens, or undermines, our national security.
Leader Jeremy Corbyn said military action could have “unintended consequences” – as it did in Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan.
He could even face resignations from his shadow cabinet, BBC News has reported.
“I can only call on all British members of parliament, in solidarity with France but, above all, conscious of the fight against terrorism, to approve this intervention”, he said.
Speaking in Malta, where he is attending a Commonwealth summit, Mr Cameron said: “I believe there is a compelling case to take the effective action to keep our country safe”.
Cameron while formally responding to a report by the commons foreign affairs select committee on Thursday cited Paris-like terror threats and it’s time for Britain to join airstrikes against the ISIL terrorist group in the Arab country.
“The shadow cabinet will continue its discussions on Monday and it may be that that is where we end up”, he said. Will it make us safer? The Labour MP for Slough Fiona MacTaggart also took to the airwaves; she didn’t explicitly call on Corbyn to resign, but did say it would be a “good thing” if he did.
The Labour Party, Britain’s largest opposition party, was split over military involvement in Syria.
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Labour MPs have defended party leader Jeremy Corbyn – and warned critics within the party to accept that he was elected Labour leader with an overwhelming mandate from party members and supporters.
