LIVE BLOG: British MPs vote on launching air strikes in Syria

Mohamed Alkhateb, a Turkey-based activist from Palmyra Coordination, who operate in the IS-occupied ancient city of Palmyra, said that while he supported the bombing of IS, they were not the main problem.

"The first problem is Bashar al-Assad," he told Middle East Eye.

"It is a good idea to bomb Islamic State, but the problem of the Syrian people is not only Islamic State - the source of all the problems is Bashar al-Assad's regime. IS violate all human rights, yes, but also Bashar al-Assad does that. Why is no-one protecting the Syrian people against Bashar al-Assad?"

He pointed out that the Assad government has already been bombing ruins in Palmyra.

"The regime are daily bombing Palmyra, but all those who are killed are civilians."

He said the British government could do more in Syria beyond bombing IS.

"Support the Free Syrian Army, coordination with the international community to make Assad withdraw from all areas. A lot of things can be done for the Syrian people, not only bombing IS. The first problem is Assad."

The Guardian reports how they believe members of the Shadow Cabinet will vote tonight.

They suggest 14 will vote against UK bombing Syria, eight for it, and another five are unknown at the moment.

Here is the Guardian list:

Jeremy Corbyn, leader: Against
Tom Watson, deputy leader: For
Angela Eagle, shadow business secretary Undecided
John McDonnell, shadow chancellor: Against
Seema Malhotra, shadow chief secretary: Undecided
Andy Burnham, shadow home secretary: Undecided
Hilary Benn, shadow foreign secretary: For
Heidi Alexander, shadow health secretary: For
Lucy Powell, shadow education secretary: For
Owen Smith, shadow work and pensions secretary: Against
Maria Eagle, shadow defence secretary: For
Jon Trickett, shadow communities secretary: Against
Lisa Nandy, shadow energy secretary: Against
Chris Bryant, shadow leader of the House of Commons: For
Lilian Greenwood, shadow transport secretary: Against
Vernon Coaker, shadow Northern Ireland secretary: For
Diane Abbott, shadow international development secretary: Against
Ian Murray, shadow Scotland secretary: Against
Nia Griffith, shadow Welsh secretary: Against
Kerry McCarthy, shadow environment minister: Against
Kate Green, shadow minister for women and equalities: Against
Michael Dugher, shadow culture secretary: For
Gloria De Piero, shadow minister for young people: Undecided
Luciana Berger, shadow minister for mental health: Unknown
Catherine McKinnell, shadow attorney general: Against
Jon Ashworth, shadow minister without portfolio: Against
John Healey, shadow minister for housing: Against

Julian Lewis MP, chair of the defence committee, who is voting against the government, said that there was a need for a hard choice between Bashar al-Assad and Islamic State.

“We face a choice between very nasty authoritarian and Islamist totalitarians. There is no other third way," he said.

“Dodgy dossiers are replaced by bogus battalions...we need to choose the lesser of two evils and abandon the fiction of a cosy third choice.”

“There is a general consensus now that the decision to remove Saddam Hussein is now regarded as a mistake - but Saddam Hussein was every bit much the vicious dictator we are now told Assad is.”

He added that Turkey's attacks on Kurdish forces in northern Syria and Iraq should be condemned.

“It’s not only ridiculous but highly dangerous to have separate conflicts going on within the same battle space.”

The Guardian has published the names of 27 Labour MPs they believe will – or would – support the Conservative motion to approve UK strikes in Syria.

They are:

Heidi Alexander

Hilary Benn

Tom Blenkinsop

Chris Bryant

Vernon Coaker

Ann Coffey

Mary Creagh

Simon Danczuk

Michael Dugher

Maria Eagle

Natascha Engel (but can’t vote as deputy speaker)

Jim Fitzpatrick

Caroline Flint

Mike Gapes (would vote, but is unwell in hospital)

Dan Jarvis

Helen Jones

Alan Johnsn

Chris Leslie

Holly Lynch

Siobhain McDonagh

Lucy Powell

Jamie Reed

Angela Smith

Gisela Stuart

Chuka Umunna

Tom Watson

John Woodcock

The Guardian reported that a further five Labour MPs may vote for the motion, but have not finalised their decision yet.

One of them, Dame Margaret Beckett, has now confirmed her support for the government motion, taking the total Labour MPs supporting a bombing campaign to 28. Another, Yvette Cooper, has also confirmed her support for the government. 29 Labour MPs voting with the government now.

Crispin Blunt MP, chair of the Foreign Affairs select committee, raised the point that the UN security council motion unanimously agreed upon to fight IS also referred to al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria.

"Limiting the targeting to ISIL and excluding al-Nusra and any future terrorist groups that will be listed by the UN as envisaged by the UN security council resolution 2249 is a restriction I do not understand.

"If armed groups put themselves beyond recall in the judgement of both the international Syrian support group and the UN security council, then our forces should be required to act within the law."

Middle East Eye’s Aleppo-based columnist Edward Dark has said he is against the UK bombing IS in Syria.

He wrote in an emailed message:

In general I'm against the idea as it would achieve nothing against IS. There are already about a dozen nations bombing them for over a year now to little effect. They [have] adapted, hidden between civilians and adopted tactics to move without being exposed and conspicuous. Without a ground army to back up airstrikes then they're useless and will only cause needless civilian deaths. The only thing that will have an impact on IS is taking out their oil infrastructure which the US-led coalition has been hesitant to do for some unknown reason, but which the Russians are doing very effectively now. In short, it's abad idea, political posturing at the cost of Syrian lives with no real tangible outcome.

Former Defence Secretary Conservative MP Liam Fox is speaking about the never-before-seen threat of IS.

Supporting air strikes, Fox said the “jihadists” dehumanise their opponents by using religious language.

He was keen not to forget that the “majority of those killed [by IS] has been Muslims.”

“This is a group that does not seek accommodation, it seeks domination,” he said.

He said that IS territory needs to be taken and held and this will require an international coalition on the ground in Syria and Iraq.

“If we do not have security on the ground in Syria there is no chance of peace regardless of what happens in Vienna,” he added, referencing planned peace talks in Austria.

Yasmin Qureshi, a Labour MP and member of a foreign affairs delegation across the Middle East, said that she had been given a very different figure of "moderate" forces in Syria than that given by the government.

"We spoke to military people, counterterrorism people and politicians - the answer that we received, is about 10 to 15,000 and that’s the answer given by everyone there."

Angus Robertson, leader of the Scottish National Party in the UK parliament said there had been “silence” over who was “moderate and fundamentalist” in the 70,000 troops referred to by David Cameron.

“I will give way if any member from the government side would confirm from the dispatch box what is the makeup of these 70,000 forces," he added.

Conservative MP Richard Benyon attacked his question as “nitpicking.”

Robertson added that the government needed to make sure that “Turkey does not bomb our Kurdish allies" and said the UK had "a particular responsibility towards the Kurds in Iraq and in Syria.”

The Brookings Doha's Charles Lister has criticised Corbyn for revealing the name of a Syrian family living under IS in Syria.

Peter Oborne, writing for Middle East Eye, has slammed David Cameron's remarks that opponents to war in Syria are "terrorist sympathisers."

"Mr Cameron's accusation amounts to a form of McCarthyism. Named after the drunken but astute Senator Joe McCarthy, it became part of the mindset of American post-war politics. It ensured that any opponent, or even any critic, of US policy could be denounced automatically as a communist agent or sympathiser.

"As a result thousands of intelligent and talented people were bullied, put on secret blacklists, hounded from their jobs, and in some cases forced into exile.

"Mr Cameron's claim that those who oppose his plan to bomb ISIS are supporters of terrorism suggests that Britain might soon embark on the same horrifying path.

"It is important to note here that this has already happened for one British minority. British Muslims who have challenged our foreign policy over the last 14 years have been barred from public platforms, denied access to government jobs, smeared in the press and placed on secret blacklists.

"This government’s counter-extremism policy defines those who refuse to comply with official thinking as potential terrorists and therefore beyond the pale. For example, ministers have had no dealings with the Muslim Council of Britain since 2006. The MCB claims to be a bulwark against domestic terrorism, but Labour, coalition and now Conservative government will not talk to it."

Kristyan Benedict, UK Campaigns Manager for Amnesty International, told Middle East Eye that there needed to be more elaboration on the nature of the bombing in Syria and the longterm strategy for stabilisation.

“Airstrikes alone aren't going to defeat IS. The wider civilian protection needs of Syrians don’t seem to be factored in to the current UK strategy. If they do genuinely want to have  focus on civilian protection then there’s a whole range ofo ther measures that needs to be taken, humanitarian and diplomatic in particular.

"It would be useful if the UK government could expand more on how they’re going to address the humanitarian needs of civilians in Raqqa, in Deir Ez-Zor and Hasakah and other parts of northern of Syria who are potentialy going to be displaced by increased bombing raids. What are their measures, whether its increasing funding to the UN so they can be delivering more aid into the north of Syria, whether they're going to be pressing on Turkey and others to open their borders to let in people fleeing, whether they’re going to invest more in the camps - that’s a factor.

"In terms of the airstrikes - a lot more needs to be said around their rules of engagement, over what accountability there will be, as often happens in armed conflicts, if civilians or civilian objects are hit. They need to be much more explicit about that.

"The wider concern is what the plan is for long term stabilisation. Who will be on the ground to fill a void if IS are defeated and pushed out. At the moment, it’s the regime who will more than likely fill that void.

"Is that a victory? Is that a win?"

Conservative MP Alan Duncan, who is chairman of the Conservative Middle East Council, is speaking and has urged parliamentarians not to focus on past wars.

“We must base our decision on today’s facts not yesterday’s mistakes,” he said.

He has also specifically addressed the Stop the War Coalition, saying “that when it comes to Syria that’s exactly what we want to (stop the civil war).”

Duncan says it is futile hope to bring stability to the Middle East, adding that if you aren’t confused then you “haven’t read enough”.

Corbyn says bombing IS in Syria is playing into the militant group’s hands.

“Opposing another war is not pacifism it is hard-headed common sense. It isn’t turning our back on our allies, it is refusing to play into the hands of ISIL, who I suspect want us to do this.”

The Labour leader says that Cameron has failed to make the case for bombing and that all efforts should be put into finding a peace deal ending Syria’s civil war.

Corbyn told the Commons that a resolution unanimously passed by the UN Security Council following the bombings in Paris did not, as some suggested, give the UK a "clear and unambigious" authorisation to beginning bombing in Syria.

“To do so it would have to have been passed under chapter 7 of the UN charter to which the security council could not agree.”