Thank you for contacting me about the vote to extend the airstrikes against Daesh from Iraq to Syria.
Whether or not to use Military force is one of the most sombre decisions a Member of Parliament can be tasked with. Just last month our nation fell silent as we remembered on the 11th day of the 11th month all those who had fallen in conflict. No MP wants to put our brave armed forces in harm’s way, and no MP wants to see innocent lives lost. I have met with families whose loved ones have died in Iraq and Afghanistan and I know the pain they feel every day. When listening to the debate on this, and ultimately during the vote this was at the forefront of my mind. However, a government’s first duty is to the safety and security of its people, and our incredible armed forces are here to help keep us safe.
In the last few months, our police and security services have disrupted seven terrorist plots to attack the UK, every one of which was either linked to or inspired by Daesh. The horrific attacks in Paris could absolutely have happened in London, Manchester or Liverpool.
The scale of the threat that we face from Daesh is unprecedented. It has already taken the lives of British hostages, and inspired the worst terrorist attack against British people since 7/7, on the beaches of Tunisia.
I am in no doubt that it is in our national interest for action to be taken to stop them. It is wrong for the United Kingdom to sub-contract its security to other countries, and expect other nations to carry the burdens and the risks of striking Daesh in Syria to stop terrorism here in Britain.
I voted to extend British airstrikes against Daesh into Syria. A Government’s first duty is to the security and safety of its people. I firmly believe that so long as Daesh enjoy the freedom of a safe haven in Syria, unchecked, unchallenged by us, the threat to people in Britain is greater. And we must remember that the United Nations is asking for our help, and that this is an action which has a great deal of support from the region, including in Iraq.
But let me be absolutely clear, Military Action is just one part of a broader strategy to bring peace and stability to the region.
Had we not intervened in Iraq 15 months ago, had we not taken action against the rapid advance of Daesh, at the direct request of the democratically elected Government of Iraq, it is possible that the Iraqi Government could have failed in its efforts to push back Daesh and the situation in the region would now be significantly worse, with more people subject to the brutality of Daesh.
We must not forget that Daesh is a group that burnt prisoners of war alive in a cage, pushed gay men off the roof of a building for their sexuality and ritually uses rape as a weapon.
A group that publicly beheads aid workers, and hangs corpses from street lights as a brutal message on disobedience to those trapped under their rule. This is a group that are ideologically committed to religious and ethnic genocide, that glories in death, violence and barbarity. We know what they are capable of, we know that they are planning now – can we really step aside and do nothing?
Military force may also mean potential civilian casualties. Not one single MP facing that vote wants to see this, but unlike Daesh none of us act with the intent to harm civilians rather to protect them.
And this is where the leader of the Opposition is fundamentally wrong. Daesh do not want to talk with us, they do not want peace. They have labelled us infidel. They want to destroy everything we stand for and our way of life. I listened carefully to all the arguments for and against action during the debate, and was particularly moved by Hilary Benn’s speech as he asked his Labour Party colleagues to support this cause of action. He said these fascists hold us in contempt, our values in contempt and our democracy in contempt and that it was time to confront this evil and do our bit in Syria.
I voted to support this action, and to support other nations who are trying to confront this evil. The decision to deploy forces is not an easy one, and the gravity of that decision will rest on my shoulders and my conscience. But I, like the majority of my colleagues from all Parties, experts from the armed services and security forces, the Iraqi government, the United Nations and millions of people in this country believe that the threat is now and that to do nothing is simply not an option.
3rd December 2015
