Labour MPs praise Theresa May over Syria strikes as Corbyn attacked for turning 'blind eye'

Labour MPs were cheered as they praised Theresa May on Monday for doing “the right thing” by bombing Syria, while Jeremy Corbyn was disowned from his backbenches for turning a “blind eye” to who is responsible for gassing children.

The Labour leader was left isolated as his own MPs mocked him for criticising Mrs May for ordering airstrikes on Assad regime targets following a chemical weapons attack near Damascus.

Mr Corbyn will on Tuesday put pressure on the Government to seek the permission of MPs before future deployments of the Armed Forces after the Speaker granted his application for an emergency debate on “Parliament’s right in relation to the approval of military action by British forces overseas.”

But a defiant Mrs May made it clear that she would bomb Syria again if it used chemical weapons in future and would not feel the need to seek Parliament’s permission to do so.

On Monday it emerged that President Donald Trump favoured bombing Russian and Iranian targets in Syria using three times the firepower than was eventually deployed, before he was talked out of it by his defence secretary James Mattis.

Theresa May makes a statement to MPs on her decision to launch air strikes on Syria
Theresa May makes a statement to MPs on her decision to launch air strikes on Syria Credit: PA

Meanwhile GCHQ and the FBI disclosed that Russia has targeted the home internet networks of tens of thousands of British households, as well as probing the vulnerabilities of Britain’s critical infrastructure including the Armed Forces, emergency services and power grid.

Mrs May addressed Parliament for the first time since Saturday’s cruise missile strike on Assad regime targets, setting out her reasons for taking action before answering questions from 140 MPs.

The Prime Minister received overwhelming support from her own party for acting swiftly against Syria without asking for permission from the Commons, but was criticised by Mr Corbyn and a handful of Tory MPs for deciding not to recall Parliament to debate the issue last week.

Asked if she would do the same again if Syria committed further outrages, an unrepentant Mrs May said: “Nobody should be in any doubt of our resolve to ensure that we cannot see a situation where the use of chemical weapons is normalised…

“I set out the basis of which we took this decision and I recognise the importance of Parliament but it’s also important that the Government is able to act, and there will always be circumstances in which it is important to act without that debate having taken place in Parliament.”

Mr Corbyn was greeted with angry shouts of “shame!” when he told MPs: “The Prime Minister is accountable to this Parliament, not to the whims of the US President.”

He once again suggested that Mr Assad might be innocent of the chemical attack as “other groups” could have carried it out, and said the the airstrikes were “legally questionable”.

Chris Leslie, the Labour MP, took issue with Mr Corbyn’s non-interventionist stance, telling the Commons: “Intervening to save civilians from future gas attacks while not without risk was absolutely the right thing to do.

“A policy of inaction also would have severe consequences. Those who would turn a blind eye, who would do nothing in pursuit of some moral high ground, should also be held accountable for once today as well.”

Opponents of the airstrikes have used the Twitter hashtag #NotInMyName but Mike Gapes, the Labour MP, turned it against Mr Corbyn by tweeting: “Sorry to say my party is led by a man who questions Russian responsibility for Salisbury, who rejects action to stop Assad use of chemical weapons, who opposes Humanitarian intervention and gives Russia a veto on UK action #NotInMyName."

Protesters outside Parliament
Protesters outside Parliament Credit: AP

John Woodcock, a Labour MP, said on Twitter: "I wish my frontbench would spend even a fraction of the energy on Assad and Russia’s grotesque slaughter of civilians as they are on inventing new reasons to oppose targeted UK intervention to stop it."

Mr Corbyn believes Parliament should pass a war powers act to prevent ministers deploying the Armed Forces without a Commons vote, and MPs will debate the matter on Tuesday during the emergency debate granted by the Speaker.

MPs will only be able to vote on the motion that they have “considered” Parliament’s right to be consulted on military action, meaning they cannot force a change in the law, but Mr Corbyn is expected to table a future debate specifically calling for a war powers act.

John Bercow, the Speaker, humiliated Mrs May by rejecting her own application for an emergency debate on Syria. Mr Bercow also granted a separate debate on Syria which continued late into Monday night after it was requested by Alison McGovern, the Labour MP.

Dominic Grieve, the former attorney general, was given the biggest cheer of the day as he summed up the consequence of Mr Corbyn’s policy of refusing to agree to any military action without the backing of UN Security Council, where Russia has constantly vetoed action. He said that as a result, “any tyrant or megalomaniac intent on carrying out genocide would be able to conduct that genocide with total impunity even if it was in our power to prevent it”.

Britain has accused Syria and Russia of preventing chemical weapons inspectors from reaching the site of the suspected gas attack in Douma which triggered Western strikes on the Assad regime.

The British delegation to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said inspectors were in Damascus but still unable to visit the site where more than 70 people were killed by a suspected regime chemical attack. They are not expected to arrive in Douma until Wednesday.

A senior Russian official speaking at a press conference in The Hague said the roads were still being cleared of mines, adding: “[On Tuesday] the security services of the United Nations ... will test the routes. And on Wednesday is when we plan the arrival of the OPCW experts.”

                                                                                                    

Syria debate closes

John Bercow calls the Commons debate to a close, after more than three hours of debate and 140 questions from backbench MPs. 

Another debate on the subject could be held tomorrow .

Labour MP asks where the Government's wider strategy on Syria is

Labour MP Anna Turley issues her support for the UK's air strikes, but asks the Prime Minister what the Government's wider strategy to save Syrian lives is. She says the vast majority of deaths in Syria aren't to do with chemical weapons, but as a result on barrel bombs, torture and starvation.

Mrs May says a resolution to the Syrian conflict can be brought about through the diplomatic and political process and that the UK will continue to support the UN efforts  to achieve this.

Matt Western: Why didn't the PM participate in previous strikes against chemical weapons?

Labour MP Matt Western asks why action was not taken in April 2017 (when there was previous incidence of the use of chemical weapons in Syria).

Mrs May says the US took action in 2017, and the UK supported this, but that this time round wider action to degrade Syria's chemical weapons capability was needed.

Neil Gray: Why didn't PM give Parliament a chance to vote

SNP MP Neil Gray asks why the PM didn't recall Parliament for a vote on Syria.

Mrs May cites the need for timely and effective action. 

Andrew Bridgen: Jeremy Corbyn actually wants a "No War Powers Bill"

Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen says it is clear that Jeremy Corbyn's War Powers bill is equivalent to a "No War Powers Bill" . He says such a piece of legislation would make the world "a far more dangerous place".

Labour MP criticises the UK's Syrian refugee record

Labour MP Thelma Walker says military action "has not been taken in [her] name". She asks the PM if "bombing a country and then refusing refuge to children reflects the Government's idea of British values".

Mrs May says  Britain has many schemes offering asylum to adults and children from Syria, and lists the humanitarian aid and medical assistance Britain has provided the region. She says Britain is the second largest humanitarian bi-lateral donor.

Labour MP says it would be "shameful" to abandon principle of humanitarian intervention

Labour MP John Woodcock, a prominent critic of Jeremy Corbyn, says  the UK should “be proud of the role” it has played in Syria. In a nod to Jeremy Corbyn's condemnation of the air strikes, Mr Woodcock says it would be “shameful" if  the principle of humanitarian intervention was abandoned "by people who would not countenance intervention in any circumstances”.

The Labour MP asks if the UK can further intervene in Syria to guarantee the safety of aid convoys getting into besieged areas 

Mrs May says she will continue to press for humanitarian access but that the Syrian regime has so far blocked it.

Stop the War protesters gather outside of Parliament

Demonstrators take part in a protest against the Government's air strikes in Syria in Parliament Square
Stop the War demonstrators protest outside of Parliament while MPs debate the Government's airstrikes

 

Jess Phillips: I would have supported you Prime Minister

Jess Phillips tells the Prime Minister that she regrets there was no vote ahead of the air strikes, but says had a vote been held the PM would have had her vote. 

Tom Harris: Parliament will probably endorse May's intervention

Telegraph columnist Tom Harris shares his thoughts on the Syria debate, the divided Labour  party  and the likelihood of Parliament endorsing May's air strikes:

  1. This morning, the brief bombing campaign in response to the latest chemical weapons outrage feels like old news
  2. For a Prime Minister who has not had much luck during her tenure, the past few weeks may come to be seen as the high point of her time in Number 10. 
  3. A lot of Labour, nationalist and Lib Dem MPs are very unhappy.  How unhappy? Well, compared to their initial reaction to the actual murder of Syrian children, asphyxiated in their beds or hiding in the cellars of their homes, pretty unhappy indeed.
  4. Aspiring statesmen and women will rise from their seats as the Speaker calls their name, and they will, inevitably, pointlessly, begin by expressing the outrage they “and the whole House” feel at the appalling events of last week in Syria.
  5. There might even be a few Twitter hashtags bandied around: “Not in my name, Prime Minister!” Yes, that will look good on the press release to their local newspaper. Job done.
  6. Watch out too for some of the more sensible Labour MPs making sly, and possibly overt, criticisms of their own leader.
  7. One of Corbyn’s favourite clichés, demanding a UN-led response, is nothing more than a chimera, a meaningless sound bite
  8. Vote or no, Parliament will endorse Mrs May’s actions, either passively or overtly. 

 

Tweets from the Commons

 

Labour MP recalls all the times Labour government authorised military action without UN resolution 

In another slight to Jeremy Corbyn, Labour MP Mike Grapes points out that the previous Labour government authorised a series of military interventions without UN resolution.

He says: “Can i remind [PM] and the Rt Hon Member for Islington north that it was a Labour government that carried out airstrikes in Iraq..without a UN resolution. It was a Labour Government that restored president Kabbah in Sierra Leone without a UN resolution. It  was a Labour Government that stopped the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo without a UN resolution.

“We have a long-standing and noble tradition on these benches supporting humanitarian intervention and the responsibility to protect.”

Chris Leslie says inaction in Syria would have had "severe consequences"

In a swipe at Jeremy Corbyn, Labour MP Chris Leslie says intervening in Syria was the right thing to do and that inaction has “severe consequences”.

He told the Commons: ”A policy of inaction would also have severe consequence and those would turn a blind eye and do nothing in pursuit of some moral high ground should also be held accountable for once.”

My May agreed with him and said inaction would have given the message that chemical weapons could be used with impunity.

Dominic Grieve: Jeremy Corbyn's stance would allow tyrants to commit genocide with impunity

Former Conservative attorney general Dominic Grieve criticises Jeremy Corbyn's stance on the airstrikes, suggesting a consequence of his policy would be that  "any tyrant, meglomaniac, or person intent on carrying out genocide" would be able to do so with impunity if they had the support of an  "immoral state in the Security Council."

May refuses to rule commit to consulting Parliament before any future air strikes

Theresa May refuses to confirm that she would consult Parliament before any future airstrikes, after Labour MP Hilary Benn presses for reassurance.

She maintains that there will always be circumstances when the Government needs to act first.

 

Yvette Cooper: PM rejects the principle of consulting Parliament on “issues of war and peace”

Yvette Cooper, the Labour MP and Home Affairs committee chair, says the Prime Minister seems to be rejecting the entire principal of consulting parliament on “issues of war and peace”.

Mrs May insists this is not the case and refers the Cabinet Manual for reasons why Parliament was not consulted before the strikes. 

Ian Blackford: Why wasn't Parliament recalled?

SNP MP Ian Blackford asks the Prime Minister why Parliament has had to wait until today to debate Syria, saying she should have recalled Parliament to discuss the matter.

 

The PM responds saying she gave Parliament the chance to discuss the matter at" the first opportunity" and that she  “will be as open as possible with Parliament”. 

Ken Clarke: Do we need a review of how military action is taken?

Ken Clarke, one of the longest serving members of the Commons, asks whether there needs to be a discussion about how the Government decides whether to take military action. 

There has been an assumption that MPs should be given the chance to have their say, but is this the right way to go about it, he asks. 

May responds to say the Government has previously decided not to enshrine the right to allow MPs to approve such decisions and she stands by this. 

Parliament can hold her to account for her decisions, as they have done today, she adds. 

May: Assad is searching survivors to prevent samples of chemical leaving Syria 

The PM says the regime is searching people who are trying to leave Douma to ensure they are not sneaking samples of chemical out of the region in order for them to be tested by experts. 

She adds that the Russians are also blocking inspectors from accessing the area so it is impossible to go down this diplomatic route. 

May repeats that the opposition does not have access to the helicopters which would be required to use chemical weapons, so it has to have been the regime. 

May: Use of chemical weapons cannot become normal

Responding to Jeremy Corbyn, the Prime Minister says she recognises the huge humanitarian impact the Syrian civil war has had and the sheer number of people who have been displaced. 

She says the UK has pledged to help hundreds of thousands of children through UK aid and this will continue. 

May also praises Turkey, the Lebanon and Jordan for their efforts.

The Government plans to continue the diplomatic efforts to end the war and to ensure humanitarian access into Syria, she says, but all parties must be willing to come together to discuss this she says - they are not at the moment. 

On the legality of strikes May says the Government has already published the legal justification for strikes and repeats her assertion that the same reasoning was used for the Kosovo intervention. 

On his point abut Yemen May says Syria is set apart by the use of chemical weapons - which the PM believes Assad's forces would use again if they were not stopped. 

The use of such weapons is prohibited and their use cannot become normalised, she adds. 

From the House of Commons chamber...

Political editor Gordon Rayner reports on the reaction from MPs as May and Corbyn discuss Syria in the chamber:

"Jeremy Corbyn’s suggestion that the Prime Minister should be accountable to Parliament “not the whims of the US President” was greeted with angry cries of “shame!” from the packed Tory benches.

"Some Conservative MPs struggled to contain their fury with Mr Corbyn, who appears set for a rough afternoon as he insists on ploughing on with his claims that other groups in Syria could have been behind the gas attack.

"Anger turned to mocking laughter as Mr Corbyn suggested chemical weapons inspectors should be allowed to get on with their job, as MPs muttered about Syria stopping the inspectors from getting to Douma."

Corbyn questions whether Syrian regime could have carried out chemical attack

Corbyn makes the point that there is a similar humanitarian crisis in Yemen - he asks if this would mean other countries could therefore bomb targets in Yemen using the same argument that the PM has used in Syria?

Why does she believe these strikes will deter future chemical attacks, Corbyn asks her. 

The Labour leader also appears to question why people appeared to be walking around the site of the chemical attack without face coverings or breathing apparatus but the point does not reach a conclusion.

"What assessment has the Government made of the impact of bombing related military facilities where the regime is assessed to store chemical weapons? What impact on the local people of chemicals being released into the local environment? News footage shows both journalists and local people in the rubble without any protective clothing", he says.

He says previous inspections in Syria determined that the regime had not carried out chemical weapons attacks because they did not find the evidence to support the manufacture of such weapons. 

It is clear that diplomatic means have not been fully exhausted because weapons inspectors have not yet been into the region, he adds. 

Jeremy Corbyn: Attack in Douma was 'horrific' but action was 'legally questionable'

The Labour leader says the chemical weapons attack in Douma was "horrific". 

MPs shout "shame" as he says he is pleased the PM appears to have remembered she is accountable to Parliament and not Donald Trump. 

Theresa May rolls her eyes. 

Corbyn says the action was "legally questionable" - drawing shouts from MPs across the chamber. He says the UN Secretary General thinks the same thing - he is citing comments which suggest action should be sanctions by the security council, on which Russia also sits. 

He calls on May to publish the advice she received before agreeing to carry out the attack. 

Government must prevent chemical attacks, May says 

"We cannot go back to a world where the use of chemical weapons becomes normalised", May says. 

The PM says she appreciates there will be significant questions about her decision to act, but that the Government must stand up for international rules.

PM stands firm on her right to make the decision to bomb chemical weapons targets in Syria 

Parliament has the right to hold me to account for decisions like this, May says, but she adds it is her responsibility to make such decisions - she is not backing away from doing so. 

MPs from across the House voice their support for her. 

The Prime Minister is highlighting the UK's aid contributions in the region so far and the continued pledges to ensure people who have been displaced have support. 

Britain has led the way on this, she says, adding the military strikes were about preventing any further chemical weapons attacks - not about regime change.

There must now be a wider diplomatic effort, she says. 

Action was in the British national interest, May tells MPs

May says the British, French and American military who carried out the targeted strikes carried out "very careful scientific analysis" to ensure strikes degraded chemical weapons material.

She says there was a "persistent pattern of behaviour" which showed the Syrian regime had used chemical weapons before and would do so again. 

The Government supports the work of chemical weapons inspectors in the region but Syria has blocked them from making progress and even with their findings, for as long as Russia continues to veto action by the United Nations it would have been impossible to take action, May says.

We have acted because it is in out national interest to do so, May tells MPs, who give their loudest cheers yet. We cannot allow chemical weapons to become normalised, she says, addressing criticism that the UK only took action because it was following orders from America. 

To demand a diplomatic route would be to give Russia a veto on British foreign policy, May says

Russia has blocked attempts to hold the perpetrators of chemical attacks to account, Theresa May tells MPs, as she build the case for why the Government felt it had "no choice" but to launch a military attack. 

Jeremy Corbyn has demanded MPs have a say on military action, Mrs May says. "The House should be clear that would mean a Russian veto on our foreign policy", she tells MPs, who voice their support for her position. 

She says the action had to meet three conditions;

- Humanitarian distress on a large scale requiring immediate relief

- No other option to save lives 

- The action should be necessary and proportionate and limited to just one intervention

Mrs May says the action taken in Syria was a last resort and was permissible under international law.

PM: We do not believe reports of chemical attack could have been faked

Theresa May begins her statement to the Commons by warning the chemical attack in Syria could not have been faked and is a "stain on our humanity". 

She says multiple reports suggest Syrian regime helicopters were operating over Douma at the time of the attack and that opposition forces do not have the capability to carry out such a strike. 

The Syrian regime also has form, including for using Sarin gas, she tells MPs. 

The UK needed to intervene rapidly to prevent further suffering and despite attempts to do so on a diplomatic level this had failed on a number of previous occasions, the Prime Minister says. 

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