I am fully aware that there are different views on this issue and that all such views are valid. As I am sure you are aware by now I voted in favour of conducting targeted air strikes against ISIL in Syria. ISIL is a vile and despicable death cult and Britain has a duty to join with our allies in eradicating them. ISIL employ the most unspeakable and horrifying methods against those who oppose them. Many thousands of people have died at their hands including homosexuals being thrown from buildings, foreign journalists and aid workers (including British citizens) being beheaded, people having limbs amputated. This is to say nothing of the women and girls who are sold as sex slaves every day by ISIL and the mass graves of women deemed to be too old to be worth selling for sex.
The murders in the French capital this month illustrate that ISIL is not merely a problem for Iraq, Syria and the Middle East. They are in fact a sophisticated, well-funded and ruthless organisation with the capability to attack us on our own shores. We cannot leave it to others: Britain has never shrunk from its moral duty and to do so on this occasion would be unconscionable.
Britain is already engaged in air strikes over Iraq. Far from achieving nothing, these air strikes have in fact shown significant results. These targeted strikes by the RAF have seen the recovery of 30% of the ISIL controlled territory in Northern Iraq. It seems absurd to me and to many others that those air strikes must cease at the Iraqi-Syrian border - a border that is not recognised by ISIL. Indeed it has been pointed out by those who have visited the region and by defence experts that not bombing Syrian targets allows ISIL space to regroup their forces causing further chaos in Iraq.
The headquarters of ISIL are in Syria. Syria is where they pump and sell the oil they use to fund their activities. The leaders of ISIL are in Syria and the training camps where they radicalise and arm young recruits are all in Syria. We must attack the heart of this organisation. Britain cannot leave it to her allies to bear the brunt of this action. As the Prime Minister has said we stand shoulder to shoulder with France, the US and all other free nations fighting against the tyranny of ISIL. We must join with our allies and take the fight to ISIL. We simply cannot afford to wait until they bring it to us.
In addition to this, Britain has been requested by a number of world leaders and organisations to help in efforts to defeat ISIL in Syria. Indeed the United Nations has called on all member states with the capabilities "to take all necessary measures. on the territory under the control of ISIL in Syria & Iraq, to redouble and co-ordinate their efforts to prevent and suppress terrorist acts committed specifically by ISIL." (UN Security Council Resolution 2249, adopted unanimously 20 November 2015). How in future could the UK expect the help of our allies if we are not prepared to offer them the same now?
The UK possesses precision weaponry which will make civilian casualties far less likely. Weapons such as Brimstone missiles and Stormshadow missiles allow RAF forces to focus weapons on military and strategic targets in ways which were not possible even a decade ago. Britain is the only coalition force with Brimstone technology which is able to strike moving targets at speeds of up to 70mph. These missiles are incredibly accurate and the use of them will massively lessen civilian casualties. It is vital that we support our allies with our technology as they support us with theirs.
It is vital that we cut off the sources of funding which allow ISIL to finance their barbaric acts of slaughter. Targeted air strikes, focussed on areas under the ISIL control and through which they can move oil, will cripple their ability to fund their senseless activities.
The argument that air strikes will make the UK a target for ISIL terrorism is a flawed one. The UK is already a target and has been for some time. In the last 6 months alone our security services have foiled 7 major terrorist plots against the UK and they will continue to do so. Air strikes are not the only strategy being used to combat ISIL. They are part of a package of measures which include fighting radicalisation here at home and cracking down on religious extremism.
It is useless to bury our heads in the sand and hope that a diplomatic solution can be reached. These are terrorists who have no interest in reaching an agreement with us. They want to kill us and every other free thinking person who disagrees with their poisonous ideology. It has been proved that a number of those who perpetrated the attacks in Paris entered Europe while posing as refugees fleeing Syria. We cannot sit idly by while actions such as these continue.
I realise not everyone will share my views and I completely respect that. I cannot, however, apologise for voting to take action against this most vile and barbaric organisation.