“The action we propose is legal, it is necessary and it is the right thing to do to keep our country safe”, he said.
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However, this was not the case for Dominic Grieve, MP for Beaconsfield, Adam Afriyie, MP for Windsor or Theresa May, Maidenhead’s MP and home secretary, who supported the prime minister David Cameron’s stance to go ahead with the air strikes.
Mr Jones, who has also publicly clashed with the recently-appointed co-chair of Labour’s defence review Ken Livingstone, said: “What annoys me is that because of his position – right from the start he has not wanted to so anything about the issue – we have failed again to properly interrogate the Government”. This is going to take time.
Eurofighter Typhoon multirole combat fighters are set to depart from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland on 3 December as reinforcements to the UK’s air power taking part in operation against Islamic State in the Middle East. Joining the Typhoons will be two Panavia Tornado GR4 strike aircraft from RAF Marham, which will reinforce eight RAF Tornado GR4 already at RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus.
ONLY one of Gwent’s six MPs voted in favour of carrying out air strikes against the so-called Islamic State terrorist group in Syria.
The field “represents over 10% of their potential income from oil”, the ministry statement said, adding: “Initial analysis of the operation indicates that the strikes were successful”.
“By extending RAF offensive operations into Syria, our aircraft are now able to help dismantle the means by which Daesh plan, direct and sustain their campaign of terror”.
RAF Akrotiri has been used as a launchpad for attacks on IS targets in Iraq for just over a year, and late on Wednesday Britain’s parliament broadened its scope for targets within Syria.
Britain’s defense secretary says British Tornados struck at oil fields that help finance the activities of the Islamic State group – the first strikes to follow after a vote in Parliament authorizing military action in Syria.
“All four Tornados have now successfully returned and we will be assessing later this morning the actual damage done”, he told the BBC.
During the 10-hour parliamentary debate, a wide range of MPs from all parties including main opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn spoke out against air strikes. “It is now time for us to do our bit in Syria”, Benn said in his impassioned speech, which drew applause from lawmakers across party lines.
“We are developing partnerships, although they are not strong as we want yet, with local tribes and Sunnis who are willing to fight ISIL”, he told CBS.
“What was really important about the vote last night was that it confirmed that Britain is a serious ally”, said Mr Fallon.
Tornados took off from a British air base in Akrotiri, Cyprus, shortly after the vote.
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Only one in three Britons agree with the decision to take military action in Libya, a poll published Monday showed.
