02/09/2013

Deputy PM Rules Out Second Syria Debate

Following comments by London Mayor Boris Johnson that MPs could be asked to vote a second time on military action in Syria, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has said that he could not "foresee any circumstances" under which such a vote would take place.

Johnson had argued in his Daily Telegraph column that he saw "no reason" why "better evidence" regarding the suspected gas attack in Syria wouldn't lead to another debate on a possible military response by Britain.

However, Clegg said that the government would respect the first vote cast by Parliament, insisting that the issue would not "go back" to the House of Commons.

A poll conducted by the BBC over the weekend, revealed that three quarters of the 1,000 people asked believed that MPs were right to not back military action in Syria.

A report is due from UN weapons regarding the suspected attack and who may have carried it out.

In other news, President Obama announced that he would ask Congress to vote on the US carrying out its own military response against the Assad government. Congress do not return from their summer recess until 9 September.

(MH/JP)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

19 April 2010
'Clegg Vote Is Vote For Brown', Warn Tories
David Cameron has again warned voters that any votes cast for Nick Clegg could leave Labour in power. The Tories claim Gordon Brown could lose the election but remain Prime Minister for five more years thanks to a Lib Dem surge inspired by last week's TV debate triumph for party leader, Nick Clegg.
29 August 2013
MPs To Debate Possible Military Response Against Syria
Legal advice taken by the British government has stated that Britain could launch military action against Syria, without the backing of the United Nations, and even if permanent members Russia and China block the move.
30 August 2013
MPs Vote Against Syrian Military Response
MPs last night voted against military action in Syria by a majority of 285 to 272. The government had debated the possibility of military action in response to an alleged chemical attack carried out by the Syrian government on August 21, near Damascus.
16 February 2005
Confusion after massive blast at Iranian nuclear site
A massive explosion in Iran, approximately 90 miles from Bushehr, the construction site of a highly controversial nuclear plant, is being linked by eyewitnesses with a missile fired from a unidentified plane.
14 April 2003
Straw denies plans for armed action against Syria
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has said that there are no Coalition plans for a military intervention in Syria – despite the more bellicose statements emerging from Whitehouse officials.