Meanwhile yesterday, Germany offered France Tornado reconnaissance jets, a naval frigate, aerial refuelling and satellite images to back the fight against the Islamic State jihadist group.
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Cameron’s previous government suffered a humiliating defeat in 2013 over military action against the Assad regime and did not push joining air strikes in Syria to a vote a year ago, amid resistance from the main opposition Labour party.
The plan includes offering active humanitarian support to Syrian people, “reconstruction” of the country’s infrastructure and detailed work with other nations to rid the Middle East of IS. Shadow International Development Secretary Diane Abbott insisted that Corbyn’s views were those of the party’s grassroots, saying his mandate to lead was too large for his cabinet to vote against him. “I believe that Jeremy understands that”, he said.
Mr Corbyn, who wants members to give their thoughts on the airstrikes by the start of next week, is facing a shadow cabinet revolt over the issue. But he argued it was a key part of a wider “comprehensive” strategy to deal with the threat. Total disgrace. The people responsible are the terrorists.
He also said there “shouldn’t be any party discipline on issues like this”.
Mr Cameron has a Commons majority of 12 in the Commons.
Earlier on Friday, French President Francois Hollande urged all British MPs to back David Cameron’s plans to expand strikes against the terror group from Iraq to Syria.
Cameron told the lower house that Britain should not “wait until an attack takes place here” before acting, adding it was “morally” unacceptable to be “content with outsourcing our security to our allies”.
“That bomb in Paris, that could have been London”.
“If hon. Members are looking for complexity as a reason to say, ‘This is hard, and therefore we can not support it, ‘ they will not have any trouble finding it – it is complex – but in the end it comes down to some simple judgements about what will make us safer or less safe”. “As the murders on the streets of Paris reminded us so starkly, Isil (IS) is not some remote threat”, he said, referring also to the killings of British tourists at a Tunisian beach resort in July by a lone gunman. “Absolutely and I have examined my conscience and that’s what it is telling me”.
Members of Jeremy Corbyn’s cabinet have expressed their support for Syrian airstrikes, however, and it’s been reported that it’s possible there could be front-bench resignations if Mr Corbyn orders the party to vote against them.
The comments come after Momentum wrote to its supporters and asked them to lobby their MPs over possible air strikes by the United Kingdom on Syria.
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This time however, it is looking increasingly likely that Cameron has the votes he needs to get parliamentary approval.
