MPs Support UK Air Strikes Against IS After 7 Hours Of Delibration

Screengrab from the ISIS video showing the execution of James Foley

The UK Parliament has thrown its weight behind Britain participating in current air strikes against the Islamic State extremists in Iraq

After a lengthy seven-hour debate, MPs voted for military action by 524 votes to 43.

The Conservatives, Lib Dems and Labour all backed air strikes although some MPs expressed concerns about where it would lead and the prospect of future engagement in Syria.

Prime Minister David Cameron said intervention at the request of the Iraqi government was “morally justified” to combat a “brutal terrorist organisation” and was clearly lawful.

He won support from Labour leader Ed Miliband who said inaction would lead to “more killing” in Iraq, large swathes of which are controlled by Islamic State.

But shadow education minister Rushanara Ali, MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, resigned from the party’s front bench in order to abstain in the vote.

The US began a series of air strikes in Iraq last month, and on Monday it began attacks on targets in Syria.

Jets from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have joined US forces in the attacks, and the US says more than 40 countries have offered to join the anti-IS coalition.