SNP MPs will vote against Syria air strikes, says Nicola Sturgeon

SNP MPs will vote against air strikes in Syria after the First Minister warned that bombing could inadvertently end up “helping rather than hindering” Islamic State.

Speaking to press at Bute House, Nicola Sturgeon said that without “a clear ground strategy” it would be difficult to coordinate air strikes, raising the likelihood of causing civilian deaths.

The First Minister said that without effective ground forces, questions remain over what would happen to territory vacated by IS, also known as Daesh.

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MPs will vote in the House of Commons on whether to extend air strikes against IS from Iraq to Syria.

Prime Minister David Cameron is pushing for airstrikes as part of wider political, diplomatic and humanitarian efforts.

Sturgeon said: “This is not an issue for kneejerk responses or deaf ears. We all want to defeat Daesh. We all want, desperately, to show solidarity with France. And we all want to see long term peace established in Syria.

“The question is whether or not UK air strikes in Syria will help to meet those objectives and in our judgement that case that has not been made. In particular the case has not been made that adding UK airstrikes to those that are already being carried out by a range of other countries and in the absence of a clear ground strategy, will make a meaningful contribution to the defeat of Daesh. And the point about reliable, effective and coordinated ground forces is not an academic point, without them the targeting of airstrikes is more difficult and the likelihood of civilian casualties is even greater, and without effective ground forces, the question of who takes, retains and governs territory vacated by Daesh remains unanswered.

“The real danger, in our judgement, is that a military intervention would result in civilian casualties and more chaos on the ground in Syria ends up, albeit entirely inadvertently, helping rather than hindering Daesh. It is for these reasons that I can confirm that SNP MPs will vote against air strikes in the House of Commons tomorrow.”

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told his shadow cabinet he would suspend collective responsibility to allow them to vote with their consciences, with many MPs believed to back Cameron’s call for RAF air strikes.

Cameron said it was in the UK’s national interest to extend the bombing campaign.

He said: “The headquarters in many ways of the terrorists actually is in Syria - and it makes no sense to recognise this border in the action we take when Isil themselves don't recognise this border.

“So it's in the national interests, it's the right thing to do. We'll be acting with our allies, we'll be careful and responsible as we do so. But in my view it's right to do this to help keep our country safe.”

Emergency protests against UK air strikes in Syria were organised last night in Edinburgh and Glasgow by the Stop the War Coalition.