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

Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour party, has reaffirmed his opposition to bombing in Syria, saying that Cameron has not made an effective case.

"The doubts and unanswered questions expressed on both sides of the house have only grown," he told the Common adding that he was disappointed that there wasn't a two day debate.

He described the current process as an "ill-thought out rush to war."

“It's becoming increasingly clear that the PM’s proposal for military action simply do not stack up.”

On being questioned whether he would whip his MPs he said that “every MP should be aware of what his constituents and public opinion think and will have to make up their minds.”

“There is no doubt that the so-called Islamic State has imposes a reign of sectarian and inhuman terror in Iraq, Syria and Libya and there is no question that it also poses a threat to our own people," he added, but said that Cameron had been unable to explain why expanding airstrikes to Syria will make a significant impact on this campaign.

He also said that he wasn't convinced that there was an effective partner on the ground, saying that the Kurds and Free Syrian Army couldn't provide it.

“The only ground forces able to take advantage of a successful anti-ISIL campaign are stronger jihadist and salafist groups close to the ISIL areas," he said.

Corbyn said he was sent a message from one of his constituents who is Syrian – their name is Abdulaziz.

The Labour leader read a quote from Abdulaziz:

“I’m a Syrian. My city is not controlled by ISIL and I still have family members there. ISIL hasn’t killed my family members. Can you (David Cameron) guarantee the safety of my family when you drop bombs on my city?”

Founding editor of The Intercept Glenn Greenwald has told Middle East Eye that Prime Minister Cameron’s desire to bomb IS-held territory in Syria is about projecting the UK as a “powerful, relevant, military actor”.

The American journalist and lawyer wrote in an email:

The House of Commons debate makes clear that this latest proposed bombing campaign has one primary objective: mindless lashing out in order to feel strong, purposeful and resolute. None of the Tory or Labour war advocates can remotely articulate any strategic rationale why bombing in Syria will weaken, let alone destroy ISIS, and they don't even seem to be trying to pretend. It's all about the pose and the self-image: showing Britain as some sort of powerful, relevant, military actor who - from a nice safe distance of 30,000 feet in the air – will stand up to whoever is the newest Muslim villain group.

The carnage and chaos created by British bombing in places like Iraq and Libya - which is what enabled ISIS in the first place – achieved virtually nothing good, while spawning massive amounts of human suffering and dangerous instability. The excitement and pulsating sense of purpose brought about by a new bombing campaign completely overwhelms those rational lessons.

In the event of another horrific, violent attack in London, people like David Cameron, Hilary Benn, Liz Kendall and the rest of the Tory/Blairite war-mongers will pretend to be mystified that anyone would possibly want to bring violence to peaceful, loving Britain, completely ignoring their own role in fostering and fuelling endless violence. Given the massive corporate profit and political power-seizures enabled by endless war, it's worth wondering whether the cycle of violence they must know they are spawning is a feature rather than a bug.

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has taken to the floor and opened by denouncing Cameron’s comments about him being a “terrorist sympathiser”.

"The Prime Minister's attempt to brand those who plan to vote against the government as 'terrorist sympathisers' both demeans the office of the Prime Minister and undermines the seriousnesss of the deliberations we are having today."

Corbyn called for the prime minister to intervene and withdraw the remarks. Cameron declined.

The youngest MP in parliament 21-year-old Mhairi Black has come out against the air strikes, in line with the rest of the Scottish National Party.

In a post on Facebook, Black shared a speech by the late Labour MP Tony Benn from a debate on the decision to launch the first Gulf war in 1990.

Benn said: “Every member of parliament tonight who votes for the government motion will be consciously and deliberately accepting the responsibility for the deaths of innocent people if the war begins as I fear it will.”

A younger Jeremy Corbyn, then a Labour MP and now the party leader, can be seen in the background of the video.

Cameron told the Commons he was today setting out a "comprehensive plan to prevent and foil plots at home" as part of the wider strategy against IS.

"We will establish a comprehensive review to route out any remaining funding of extremisim in the UK," he said adding that this would include "any overseas sources."

He said the report will be delivered to himself and Home Secretary next spring.

He added that "British muslims are appalled by Daesh...they are hijacking a peaceful religion for their warped ends."

Cameron says there are some ground forces to work with in Syria.

Last week he said there are around 70,000 fighters on the ground who do not “belong to extremist groups.”

He declined to disclose the names of the groups he was referencing, saying: “I can’t risk the safety of these courageous people by naming them.”

Cameron said the 70,000 fighters’ estimate came from “detailed analysis of open source [data] and specific intelligence” given by the Joint Intelligence Committee.

“The majority are from the Free Syrian Army. Some 20,000 are Kurdish fighters.

“I’m not arguing all these 70,000 [fighters] are ideal partners. Some of them left Syrian army because of Assad’s brutality – and they can play a role in Syria’s future.”

He said the 70,000 fighters does not include a further 25,000 “extremist fighters who reject democracy and political participation with non-Muslims.”

 “They cannot and will not be our partners,” he said, specifically naming Al Qaeda affiliate the Nusra Front as a group not to be worked with.

Cameron says that there have been no reports of civilian casualties in Iraq over the 15 months British jets have been bombing IS targets there.

“We want zero civilian casualties. One year and three months into bombing Iraq we have had no reports of civilian casualties.”

The prime minister said he and other members of the Privy Council have been briefed by the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC).

He said that the recent attack in Paris, when IS attackers killed 130 people, showed how high the IS threat is to the UK.

“Paris wasn’t different because it was so close to us. It showed the extent of terror planning in Syria and how they are sending people back to Europe [to attack]. This was the head of the snake from Raqqa in action. The judgment of the JIC is that the risk of a similar attack in the UK is real. The UK is in the top tier of ISIL’s target list.

“If there is an attack on the UK in the coming weeks and months people will say it is because of air strikes. But ISIL has been trying to attack us for the past year – we know that from the seven plots foiled by our security services.”

Labour MP Emily Thornberry calls again for Cameron to withdraw comments calling those who do not support air strikes “terrorist sympathisers”.

The prime minister again refuses:

“I’ve made my views clear about the importance of all of us fighting terrorism. Now let’s move on.”

Cameron says in his opening speech that the long-term solution to Syria’s civil war is forming a government that “that represents all of its people and who works with us to defeat the evil of ISIL (IS) for good.”

The prime minister stressed that IS is a threat to British security and must be urgently dealt with.

“The threat is very real. Do we work with our allies to degrade and destroy this threat? Or do we sit back and wait for [IS] us to attack us?”

“This is an ISIL first strategy. There are the threat. They are the ones we should be targeting.”

Prime Minister Cameron has been pressed by Labour MPs to retract his comments from last night when he labelled Jeremy Corbyn and others who oppose bombing Syria “terrorist sympathisers”.

Shadow Leader of the House Labour MP Chris Bryant opened the debate by decrying Prime Minister David Cameron’s refusal to allow a two day debate, which Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had requested.

Bryant said 157 MPs want to speak in the debate today – 87 from the opposition benches and 70 from the government.

He added that due to time constraints not all members will be able to speak.

“This is no way to proceed if you really want to take the house and the country with you,” said Bryant.

Leader of the House Conservative MP Chris Grayling responded: “Since we have 157 wanting to speak it would be better to get on with the debate.”