Boris Johnson: UK could strike Syria 'without parliamentary approval'

The British foreign secretary says it would be 'very difficult' to reject a call from Washington for military action against Bashar al-Assad.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

27 April, 2017

Johnson says it would be "difficult to say no" if Trump requested military backing [Getty]

The UK could participate in US-led airstrikes on Syria without parliamentary approval, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson suggested on Thursday.

Johnson told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme that it would be "very difficult to say no" if US President Donald Trump requested military backing against Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in the event of another chemical attack.

"I think it will be very difficult if the United States has a proposal to have some sort of action in response to a chemical weapons attack, and if they come to us and ask for our support, whether it's with submarine-based cruise missiles in the (Mediterranean), or whatever it happens to be, as was the case back in 2013, it would be in my view – and I know this is also the view of the Prime Minister – it would be very difficult for us to say no," he said.

When pressed on whether this would require a parliamentary ballot, the foreign secretary replied: "I think that needs to be tested."

He added that Assad's use of weapons "banned almost 100 years ago" would make it difficult to reject an American call for war.

Given that the UK's House of Commons rejected action against Syria's government in 2013, such a move may prove highly controversial.

The foreign secretary's comments followed remarks he made in a newspaper article in which he called opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn a "mutton-headed old mugwump".

Corbyn, the UK Labour Party's veteran anti-war leader, has suggested that he may halt UK airstrikes on the Islamic State group in Syria if he is elected prime minister on June 8.

This stance, coupled with his long standing support of nuclear disarmament, have been used as a point of attack by the ruling Conservative Party, who have branded Corbyn a 'security threat'.

"This is somebody who would certainly put the security of our country at risk. And if you want stronger and stable leadership then it has to be Theresa May and the Conservatives," Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said earlier this week.

According to the latest polls, the Conservatives look set to win a landslide victory with a lead of as many as 20 percentage points over the Labour Party, who have only just started to creep up in the polls.