Sir Edward slams bombing of Syria

The backbench MP said Prime Minister Theresa May’s Government had ‘totally failed’ to convince the rest of the country Saturday’s early morning airstrikes on war-torn Syria were necessary.

Sir Edward, who voted against the war in Iraq, said world leaders should be trying to end the war, not ‘take part in it’.

“It is both a pleasure and a relief to hear from so many constituents from across West Lindsey who agree that this latest intervention in Syria was a dangerous act.

“It is all very well for the Government to claim it is a necessity based on the evidence they have seen, but they have totally failed to convince the rest of us.

“The Iraq fiasco was not so long ago, and the evidence later proved we were right to have been so sceptical about that at the time. There is no accolade less pleasing than having seen one’s own predictions of disaster proved correct.

“In Rome this month, I met with representatives from a number of organisations who are dealing with the migrant and refugee crisis, and it is depressing to think quite how much of this problem is the direct result of disastrous Western foreign policy decisions.

“If we hadn’t invaded Iraq, if we hadn’t toppled Qaddafi in Libya, and if we hadn’t insisted on intervening and prolonging the rebellion in Syria, it is difficult to make a case that the world would be worse off.

“The fact is that the major new and emerging economies of the world are not tortured with anguish over the Syrian crisis.

“China, India, Brazil, and Nigeria face significant enough challenges looking after their own people to intervene in the affairs of Syria.

“We have a humanitarian obligation to be concerned about Syria, but that obligation should be expressed by trying to end the war, not to take part in it.”