Iraq Airstrikes: MPs Start Debating IS Raids

The Prime Minister has urged MPs to back airstrikes in Iraq - saying Islamic State (IS) fighters are "psychopathic terrorists trying to kill us".

David Cameron, trying to rally support among MPs at Westminster for bombing raids against the Islamist extremists, said IS had "already declared war on us".

He told the Commons debate that Islamic militants "have already murdered one British hostage" and are "threatening the lives of two more".

Mr Cameron described IS, which has invaded large areas of Syria and Iraq, as "a terrorist organisation unlike those we have dealt with before".

He said: "The brutality is staggering - beheadings, crucifixions, the gouging out of eyes, the use of rape as a weapon, the slaughter of children. All of these things belong to the dark ages.

"This is not a threat on the far side of the world. Left unchecked we will face a terrorist caliphate on the shores of the Mediterranean and bordering a NATO member with a declared and a proven determination to attack our country and our people."

The PM said the shadow of the 2003 decision to join the US-led invasion of Iraq "hangs heavy" over the vote, but told MPs: "We must not use past mistakes as an excuse for indifference or inaction."

Britain has six Tornado GR4 fighter bombers in Cyprus ready to strike northern Iraq, a figure which Cabinet minister Kenneth Clarke said would make the UK's military contribution "almost symbolic".

The US has carried out over 200 air raids against IS in Iraq and Syria

Labour leader Ed Miliband said he understood the deep unease about taking military action, but said the UK could not stand by in the face of the threat from IS, also known as ISIL.

"ISIL is not simply a murderous organisation; it has ambitions for a state of its own - a caliphate across the Middle East, run according to their horrific norms and values," he said.

But in a typically firebrand intervention, outspoken Respect MP George Galloway said bombing would not work, and stressed the need to strengthen ground forces in the region.

He said: "ISIL is a death cult, it's a gang of terrorist murderers. It's not an army and it's certainly not an army that's going to be destroyed by aerial bombardment."

IS militants have been branded 'psychopathic terrorists' by the PM

Former Tory Defence Secretary Liam Fox said planned airstrikes do not go far enough by not including Syria, while ex-Labour cabinet minister Hazel Blears described Government proposals for action as "minimalist".

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, backed UK airstrikes, telling the House of Lords: "The action proposed today is right."

But he warned "we must not rely on a short-term solution" and a wider effort was needed to turn extremists away from the "evil of ISIL".

On Thursday, the Cabinet unanimously backed military action against IS, which could last up to three years.

Dragana Prodanovic Haines, the widow of UK aid worker David Haines, who was beheaded by his IS captors, told Sky News she backed UK airstrikes "limited to distinctive targets".

Former Cabinet Minister Clare Short criticised the planned bombing, saying it was "more likely we'll get bombs on the streets of London, and not less likely".

She said the UK should stop being an "American poodle", saying airstrikes would not solve the Middle East crisis and will lead to more people joining IS.

Operations could begin within hours of Friday's Commons vote, which is due at around 5pm.

The PM is desperate to avoid the embarrassment of the Commons defeat on Syria airstrikes last year, and tabled a cautiously-worded motion intended to win support from all parties for action in Iraq.

Mr Cameron went into the debate with an opinion poll suggesting voters strongly back Iraq airstrikes, but would also support attacks against Syria.

Meanwhile, Denmark announced it was sending seven F-16 planes to join the US-led coalition against IS.

Shortly before the debate, Home Secretary Theresa May announced the under-fire Passport Office will be brought into the Home Office and made directly accountable to ministers - a move that led to accusations of her trying to "bury bad news".

:: Watch the Commons debate on Sky News Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 132.

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