Corbyn fury as PM acts on her own
Labour leader says Britain ‘should not trail after Trump’ He questions legal basis and demands no more raids
BLITZ ON ASSAD: OPPOSITION SAY
OPPOSITION leaders reacted with fury yesterday at Theresa May’s decision not to get MPs’ backing to bomb Syria.
Both Jeremy Corbyn and Lib Dem boss Vince Cable said the Prime Minister should have got the go-ahead from Parliament first.
Mr Corbyn branded the attack “legally questionable” – saying there should have been a UN investigation before any missiles were fired.
He said: “Theresa May should have sought Parliament’s approval, not trailed after Donald Trump.
“Britain should be playing a leadership role to bring about a ceasefire – not putting British military personnel in harm’s way.”
He said an attack could only be legally justified “if there was a direct threat to us… and there wasn’t”.
Mr Corbyn’s opposition came despite a personal briefing on Friday night when Mrs May shared top secret intelligence with him.
He sent her a letter yesterday lunchtime insisting: “Given that neither the UN nor the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has yet investigated, it is clear diplomatic and non-military means have not been exhausted.”
And he demanded an assurance there would be no more bombing until after such an investigation.
Mrs May’s decision to act was taken at an emergency Cabinet meeting on Thursday.
Sir Vince yesterday indicated his party would have backed military action had MPs been asked.
And he slammed the PM for not doing so, warning: “Riding the coattails of an erratic US President is no substitute for a mandate from the House of Commons.”
Parliament is on holiday for Easter until tomorrow – but Mrs May could have ordered a recall.
The SNP also insisted she should have done so. But her actions were backed by her Northern Ireland allies, the DUP. The PM will face MPs tomorrow when she makes a statement and answers questions.
Pressed by the Sunday Mirror on whether she would allow a vote on any future UK action, Mrs May dodged the question. She had been reluctant to consult Parliament after David Cameron’s plans for similar action in 2013 were blocked.
On that occasion, MPs led by Labour’s then leader Ed Miliband voted against it. Mrs May said: “I voted to take action in 2013. It was the right thing to do.
“A commitment was given by Syria not to deploy chemical weapons. The Russians guaranteed that. That is not what happened.”
Mrs May recorded a TV statement on Friday night from her Chequers country retreat, announcing the airstrike after calls with US President Donald Trump and France’s Emmanuel Macron.
They had already agreed to respond with military action to Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s chemical attack last weekend on his own people in Douma, which killed at least 70 people.
At 2am, Mrs May gave the order for RAF Tornados to blitz a chemical weapons plant near Homs. She was in Downing Street by 7am, and announced the strike at 9am.
Looking tired in the woodpanelled State Dining Room, she told news crews: “While full assessment of the strike is ongoing, we are confident of its success.”
After outlining why last week’s chemical attack on Douma could only have come from Assad’s regime, she insisted: “This was not about interfering in a civil war. And it was not about regime change.
“The Syrian regime should be under no doubt of our resolve on chemical weapons.”
While the US is understood to have given Russia notice of targets so their personnel could be moved out, Mrs May pointedly said the UK had not.
She warned Russia the strike sent “a clear signal to anyone else who believes they can use chemical weapons with impunity”.
We should be playing a leadership role to bring about a ceasefire JEREMY CORBYN ON HIS OPPOSITION TO AIR STRIKE