May defends British strikes in Syria against parliament critics

By Elizabeth Piper

 

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May attends a press conference in 10 Downing Street, London, April 14, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson/Pool

 

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May, facing a rowdy session of parliament on Monday, defended her decision to join U.S.-led missile strikes against Syria without first seeking parliament's authorisation.

 

May justified her action in bypassing a parliament vote on military action, saying she was driven by the need to decide quickly about joining the United States and France in Saturday's strikes, made in retaliation for a suspected poison gas attack.

 

Saying she had no doubt the "Syrian regime" was behind the April 7 gas attack which she called a "stain on humanity", May told lawmakers she had acted in the national interest. She refused to be drawn on whether she would seek their approval for future action.

 

Jeremy Corbyn, head of the opposition Labour party, led criticism of May for not recalling parliament a vote, accusing her of blindly following U.S. President Donald Trump's orders.

 

"I'm absolutely clear that it is parliament's responsibility to hold me to account for such decisions and parliament will do so," May told the House of Commons in a rowdy session.

 

"But it is my responsibility as prime minister to make these decisions and I will make them."

 

May has weathered months of doubt over her leadership due to rows over the Brexit decision to leave the European Union and an ill-judged decision to call an early election when her Conservative Party lost its parliamentary majority.

 

Now, she is enjoying an unusual spell of international support for her action in Syria and her stance against Moscow over a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in Britain.

 

But she still has to tread carefully in parliament, where she now relies on a small Northern Irish party to get enough votes to pass legislation, and has tried to appease lawmakers, angry over being sidelined, by offering time to discuss Syria.

 

Ian Blackford, the leader of the opposition Scottish National Party in Westminster, was another of her critics who asked May why she had broken with a convention dating back to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and not recalled parliament for a vote.

 

"The prime minister leads a minority government," he said. "It was perfectly possible for the house to have been recalled in advance. Why was this not done?"

 

PRAISE

 

While some in May's Conservative party also expressed their regret that she had sidelined parliament, May won praise from others - one calling her a "real prime minister" - for moving swiftly to support the joint air strikes.

 

Corbyn drew jeers and shouts for his taunt that May had acted to please Trump.

 

"We have not done this because President Trump asked us to, we have done it because we believed it was the right thing to do, and we are not alone," May said to cheers.

 

But she avoided answering questions on her future strategy for Syria, on whether parliament would be consulted on any further strikes and ignored demands by Corbyn for a War Powers Act to limit the government's power to launch military action.

 

That prompted calls for future debates on Syria.

 

Corbyn won approval for a debate on parliament's rights in regard to British military action on Tuesday, and parliament debated long into the evening on Monday on the government's strategy in Syria, particularly regarding civilians there.

 

Britain has said there are no plans for future strikes against Syria. May has emphasised that the strikes were "limited" to only target Damascus's chemical weapons programme.

 

But she will be mindful of how military action can backfire.

 

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair's legacy was tainted by his decision to join the war against Iraq, especially after an inquiry concluded that the decision was based on flawed intelligence, while her predecessor, David Cameron, was damaged after losing a vote for strikes against Syria in 2013.

 

Opinion polls suggest that most Britons do not support military action, with one by Survation taken after the strikes were launched showing 40 percent of the 2,060 people asked opposed the action. Some 36 percent supported the strikes.

 

"She authorised military action with no mandate," said one Conservative lawmaker on condition of anonymity. "If it's a success, she wins. If not, she's the one that will take the blame."

 

(additional reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek in Brussels; Editing by Richard Balmforth)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-04-17

I tend to avoid criticizing other governments and won't do so here. I just wish the US would get out.

The one thing that came out of this long winded debate debacle Corbyn looks more of a knob than Boris. 

President May needs to be reminded that sovereignty rests  with parliament not the executive.

 

Claiming necessity of urgent response is disingenuous, the gas attack was already a week old. There had been plenty of time to recall parliament.

 

I do agree with the priciple of punishing Assad's regime for using Chemicals. I would have demolished his palace.

 

But, we should use financial leverage on Russia to get Assad into peace negotiations. He's a bad bastard for sure but rather a secular Syria than another Islamic state. We should be thinking of what shape we want in the ME in future.

 

 

2 minutes ago, sammieuk1 said:

The one thing that came out of this long winded debate debacle Corbyn looks more of a knob than Boris. 

Yes, he came over very badly. Clearly not Prime ministerial material! Poetry that, tha knows. 

So a tiny piss pot island has enough money to bomb Syria but takes free school meals off children and pays the worst state pension in Europe to its old folk. Nothing but a diversion to take the heat off the Brexit nightmare she is having just like Thatcher did with the Falklands war when she was loosing support. And of course their arms dealer buddies will profit too with the replenishment of said bombs. America wants to tangle with Putin let them get on with it. My vote will go to Corbyn even though i cant stand the man just to get these useless tories from power.

. . . a suspected poison gas attack.

 

Mother Theresa - prosecutor, judge and jury rolled into one. And another US lapdog PM to boot.

She should have recalled parliament but I understand why she didn't.  She simply could not afford another defeat and the risk of that happening was real.  I listened to some of the debate (wasn't up for six hours of the same arguments over and over again) and the conclusion was that you cannot believe anything any side is saying.

 

May had agreed with Trump and Macron that she was "in" and then, if defeated in parliament, she would have had to go back and retract that commitment.  Wasn't going to happen, so once again May found herself between a rock and a hard place.

Theresa May, you didn't bother to have a vote in parliament about this, because you was scared you would lose the vote.

By the way, Theresa May, I'm outraged that you decided to join in with the attack on Syria. You ordered the attack to take attention away from the existing problems that you've got.

1 hour ago, tonbridgebrit said:

Theresa May, you didn't bother to have a vote in parliament about this, because you was scared you would lose the vote.

By the way, Theresa May, I'm outraged that you decided to join in with the attack on Syria. You ordered the attack to take attention away from the existing problems that you've got.

Well the Falklands worked wonders for Thatcher the milk snatcher.

Stomp the bejasus out of a tin pot nation, sink its only but very ancient warship and she became the darling of the jingoistic little englanders. 

Its a well worn path sadly

6 minutes ago, Expatthailover said:

Well the Falklands worked wonders for Thatcher the milk snatcher.

Stomp the bejasus out of a tin pot nation, sink its only but very ancient warship and she became the darling of the jingoistic little englanders. 

Its a well worn path sadly

Bit of a stretch to compare the allied, precisely targeted, one hit, attack of Syria to the defence of a sovereign state that was being occupied.

 

Much closer to compare it to Iraq I would have thought and of course that made Blair a much despised and hated figure and cost him any chance of a knighthood.

1 hour ago, tonbridgebrit said:

Theresa May, you didn't bother to have a vote in parliament about this, because you was scared you would lose the vote.

By the way, Theresa May, I'm outraged that you decided to join in with the attack on Syria. You ordered the attack to take attention away from the existing problems that you've got.

 

So democracy is not over-rated, then?

 

G7 leaders: statement on chemical weapons use in Syria

 

The G7 leaders unite in condemning the use of chemical weapons in Syria and support recent actions by the US, UK and France to degrade and deter further use.

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/g7-leaders-statement-on-chemical-weapons-use-in-syria

 

They've done similar re Salisbury too.

Edited April 17, 20188 yr by evadgib

1 hour ago, tonbridgebrit said:

By the way, Theresa May, I'm outraged that you decided to join in with the attack on Syria. You ordered the attack to take attention away from the existing problems that you've got.

In spite of (and TBH she isn't doing a bad job under the circumstances!).

1 hour ago, Expatthailover said:

Well the Falklands worked wonders for Thatcher the milk snatcher.

Stomp the bejasus out of a tin pot nation, sink its only but very ancient warship and she became the darling of the jingoistic little englanders. 

Its a well worn path sadly

Probably best avoided but since you've mentioned it...

 

More than 200 relatives of 90 recently identified Argentine soldiers who lost their lives in the 1982 Falkland war visited the Falkland Islands today (Monday 26 March) to visit their newly marked graves.

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/relatives-of-argentine-soldiers-killed-during-the-falklands-war-visit-the-argentine-cemetery-at-darwin

 

Can we get back on topic?

Edited April 17, 20188 yr by evadgib

15 hours ago, Expatthailover said:

Well the Falklands worked wonders for Thatcher the milk snatcher.

Stomp the bejasus out of a tin pot nation, sink its only but very ancient warship and she became the darling of the jingoistic little englanders. 

Its a well worn path sadly

There's rather more to it than that.

 

I was in the Falklands and saw first hand the happiness of many English people who had been given their way of life back. If someone kicked you out of your home and made you live in the garden shed and when you returned home you found these Argentinian animals had s*it all over you furniture and worse, you would be glad of your life being restored.