Jeremy Corbyn has suggested that Britain should review its involvement in coalition airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq, as the government confirmed it had no current plans to seek parliamentary approval for a widening of the bombing campaign to Syria.
The Labour leader said the airstrikes in Iraq should be looked at again because they had been unsuccessful in targeting Isis targets, which mainly operate across the border in Syria.
Corbyn told ITV News on Tuesday: “What’s being done in Iraq is done by the Iraqi government and currently supported by the British government. I did not support it when it came up in parliament.
“I am not sure how successful it has been because most of the action now appears to be moving into Syria so I think we have to look again at that.”
The intervention by Corbyn caused some surprise in shadow cabinet circles. A spokesman for the shadow foreign secretary, Hilary Benn, said it was always right to review British involvement in military operations but added that Labour still stood by the overwhelming parliamentary vote in September last year in favour of the airstrikes over Iraq.
The spokesman told the Huffington Post: “Of course Hilary believes the government should always be reviewing these things. His judgment remains the same as it did when parliament overwhelmingly voted, and Labour MPs overwhelmingly voted, to agree to the request for assistance from the Iraqi government to resist the invasion by Isil [Isis].”
The apparent divisions among senior Labour figures emerged after the Guardian, the Times and the FT reported that David Cameron had shelved plans for a Commons vote on extending the UK’s involvement in the airstrikes from Iraq to Syria. The failure to win the support of enough Labour MPs to ensure that Downing Street could overcome a Tory rebellion – plus Russia’s intervention in Syria – has persuaded No 10 to shelve its plans for a vote.
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