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Syria conflict: MPs not guaranteed vote on further military action by UK, minister says

‘We will respond appropriately to any further use of chemical weapons’

Monday 10 September 2018 23:31 BST

Rescuers work amid the destruction caused by Syrian government bombardment of the town of Al Habit in rebel-held Idlib province (Omar Haj Kadour/AFP/Getty Images)

Middle East minister Alistair Burt has refused to guarantee giving MPs a vote on further military action in Syria if the Assad regime uses chemical weapons.

Mr Burt said the government’s position had not changed since the UK took part in airstrikes with the US and France in retaliation for the attack on Douma in April.

He was responding to questions in the Commons following reports Russian and Syrian jets had resumed intensive strikes in densely populated Idlib and Hama despite Turkey’s pleas for a ceasefire.

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said further military intervention by the UK would be “escalating Britain’s involvement in Syria and risking clashes with Russian and Iranian forces”.

Ms Thornberry asked: “Will the minister of state guarantee this house we will be given a vote to approve such action before it takes place even if that means recalling parliament?”

Mr Burt replied: “We will respond appropriately to any further use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.

“I’m not prepared to say at this stage what the United Kingdom’s detailed reaction might be or give any timescale.

“The importance of responding appropriately, quickly and with the safety of personnel in mind will be uppermost in the minds of the United Kingdom.”

On Sunday Syrian army helicopters dropped barrel bombs – typically filled with high explosives and shrapnel – on al-Habeet and Abdin villages in southern Idlib and a string of other villages in the area, according to witnesses.

The Syrian government and Russian strikes in Idlib and Hama were condemned by former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell.

He told the Commons: “The bombing of these hospitals in Idlib, each one of them clearly marked with a red cross on its roof, is a war crime and the individuals engaging in those attacks will be held to account however long it takes.”

Mr Burt agreed, adding: “We have more documented evidence of recent attacks on health centres, this is unacceptable.

“Deliberate targeting of health centres is against international humanitarian law, as he said, and should be spelt out every single time.”

Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Tom Tugendhat demanded action to tackle Russian money behind the attacks.

He said: “Is it not outrageous these people are allowed to exploit our assets, our property and our laws to finance a war in Syria that’s leaving hundreds of thousands injured and many more millions displaced?”

Mr Burt said there was an “opportunity” to prevent further attacks on civilians, saying the UK was calling on Moscow “to do all in its power to prevent that”, and said sanctions would be used in the event of further aggression.

Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps

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1/20Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps

Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps

This young child hides under the cover of endless white nylon tent sheeting from new visitors entering the camp. The hesitancy to engage soon passes and curiosity follows as he is interested to discover more about Muslim Aid.

Paddy Dowling

Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps

In Enmaa camp, Wardi takes a neighbour’s child onto her knee. She has 4 children of her own; they left Homs in 2013 after heavy bombardments and a lack of food. They travelled for 4 days to reach the border. Years on they still suffer acute hunger at times. Muslim Aid Food voucher scheme is literally sustaining and changing lives in these camps.

Paddy Dowling

Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps

Taima, (Enmaa camp Lebanon) picks the very few flowers with her friends off the perimeter of the camp floor and hands them to a member of the Muslim Aid team. These acts of kindness are so incredibly powerful to see.

Paddy Dowling

Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps

Zaynab currently lives in Suleyman camp in Mohamra, Lebanon in a small tent housing 15 people in two rooms. Zaynab fled Syria in 2013 and travelled through fields and mountains to reach the Lebanese border, traumatised by the fear of planes, bombs and grenades. The family are currently in great need of food and gas. Bread has become very expensive and inaffordable. In her tent was a basket of bread that was stale and mouldy.

Paddy Dowling

Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps

Sumayya, Murfat’s youngest sister, peers out from their tent.

Paddy Dowling

Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps

A father attempts to create some normality by teaching his youngest son how to ride his first bike in between the network of tents and alleyways in the camp.

Paddy Dowling

Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps

Malik 8 and Hazayfa 5 at Suleyman camp are amongst those fortunate to benefit from schools nearby offering classes after normal hours.

Paddy Dowling

Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps

Mothers and wives are left to spend their days in the camps with memories of losing husbands fathers and sons causing in Syria and during their journey to the safety of neighbouring countries such as Lebanon and Jordan.

Paddy Dowling

Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps

It is truly amazing the defiance and resilience these children to show that they refuse to give up smiling regardless of how terrible their journey was that brought them to Enmaa camp.

Paddy Dowling

Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps

Suleyman camp, Lebanon - many people have medical issues and can’t afford treatment, so cash is desperately needed to provide this support.

Paddy Dowling

Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps

Murfat 3, lives with her mother and sister in a shelter provided. Their clothes, damp from the morning showers, left to dry in the porch of the tent by the air which is warm and thick with flies.

Paddy Dowling

Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps

Mohammed, 2, Suleyman camp, Lebanon. There are 250,000 Syrian refugees in northern Lebanon alone.

Paddy Dowling

Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps

Al Inmar camp, Lebanon.

Paddy Dowling

Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps

Malaak, 11, in Suleyman camp, Lebanon. Here children are living in tents which leak in the rain and are too flimsy to shield them from the cold in winter.

Paddy Dowling

Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps

16 yr old Homam in front of his mobile phone repair business as a result of micro-finance loan from Muslim Aid.

Paddy Dowling

Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps

A young girl looks out across the geography of Enmaa Camp and beyond to the horizon of the coastline. The 250 tents have been squeezed onto a small plot of land amongst a smart residential neighbourhood and acres of poly tunnels growing fruit and vegetables.

Paddy Dowling

Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps

Hayaan, just 3 year-old, in Suleyman camp, Lebanon, makes the sign for victory or peace.

Paddy Dowling

Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps

White chalked lines replaced by empty oil drums fashioned into makeshift rubbish bins mark out the perimeter of the pitch. Hamaad, 8 years-old, likes to play football in the wasteland around the tents.

Paddy Dowling

Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps

Many of Sulayman’s residents had previously been surviving on donated bags of mouldy bread and some even fasting voluntarily long before the start of Ramadan.

Paddy Dowling

Syrian families waiting in the shadows of Lebanon's refugee camps

Sumaha, 10 years-old (Suleyman camp in Lebanon), talks to us with her friends before they leave the camp to attend a class at a nearby school.

Photos Paddy Dowling

Labour MP Mike Gapes backed the call by the committee for an independent inquiry into “the consequences of non-intervention”.

“There has been a manifest failure to protect civilians and prevent mass atrocities in Syria,” he said.

“We could have intervened in 2011 with humanitarian corridors and no-fly zones.

“There can be even worse consequences from non-intervention by the international community than there are from intervention.”

Mr Burt supported the idea and said the damage from non-intervention was “an established fact”.

He added: “In a way, Syria has demonstrated, in a way that had not been fully clear before, the consequences of non-intervention.”

Additional reporting by Press Association

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