Syria air strikes: MPs authorise UK action against Islamic State

MPs have overwhelmingly voted by 397 to 223 to authorise UK air strikes against so-called Islamic State in Syria after an impassioned 10-hour Commons debate.

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The BBC understands 67 Labour MPs sided with the government in backing military action as David Cameron secured a larger than expected Commons majority.

The PM said they had "taken the right decision to keep the country safe" but opponents said the move was a mistake.

The government has said bombing raids will begin "as soon as [is] practical".

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said he would not give a "running commentary" on operations, having earlier suggested bombings could begin as early as Thursday. Eight bombers are on standby at the RAF Akrotiri air base in Cyprus.

Welcoming the result, Mr Hammond said Britain was "safer because of the actions taken by MPs today". He added: "Military strikes alone won't help Syria, won't keep us safe from Daesh. But this multi-strand approach will."

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn argued that the case for war "does not stack up" - but his party was split, with senior Labour figures voting with the government.

The BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg said 67 Labour MPs - equivalent to 29% of the parliamentary party, voted with the government to back air strikes after their MPs were given a free vote. The Press Association said the figure was 66.

Shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn was applauded by MPs from across the House, particularly on the Conservative benches, when he urged his own side to "confront this evil" posed by Islamic State, who he said "held our democracy in contempt".

Analysis by political editor Laura Kuenssberg
David Cameron has achieved his long-held goal.
Intervening against the extremist forces who call themselves the Islamic State in Syria - it seemed impossible less than a month ago. But in the weeks since the Paris attacks, the prospect of extending bombing strikes into Syria from Iraq has taken on a reluctant inevitability.

Planes may be dropping bombs by tonight.
But for the prime minister, with this, his third big foreign intervention - Libya, Iraq, now Syria - pulling together a wider plan to achieve real peace is a far more complex task, one he acknowledges the UK cannot complete on its own.

In an impassioned speech, Mr Benn said the international community was "faced by fascists and what we know about fascists is that they must be defeated". While there were "rarely perfect circumstances to deploy military forces", he said "the threat is now" and the UK must rise to the challenge.

Former Cabinet ministers Alan Johnson, Yvette Cooper and Margaret Beckett also spoke in favour of military action while former acting leader Harriet Harman also voted with the government. But former leader Ed Miliband was among those Labour MPs to vote against.

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Reacting to the vote, aides to Mr Corbyn said a majority of the shadow cabinet had backed his position and his authority had been "enhanced".

The SNP, which opposed military action, said it was disappointed and it feared the outcome would lead "to Iraq and Libya all over again".

But the United States, which along with France, Russia and other countries are already conducting missions in Syria, welcomed the vote, saying "it looks forward to having UK forces flying with the coalition over Syria".

Full details of which MPs backed air strikes will be released in due course. Press Association reported that seven Tories opposed military action.

BBC