David Cameron. Photo: ReutersDavid Cameron has accused Ed Miliband of taking a “political” decision to oppose the Government in last week’s Commons vote on military action in Syria.
The British Prime Minister insisted he had no regrets about recalling Parliament to seek MPs’ approval for a process which could have led to the UK joining the US in punitive air strikes on the regime of President Bashar Assad.
And he once again insisted that he will not stage a second debate in an attempt to persuade MPs to rethink their decision.
In a pointed comment apparently directed both at the Labour leader and rebels on his own side, Cameron said: “Everyone who voted has to live with the way that they voted.”
In a round of TV interviews at the G20 summit in St Petersburg, which has been dominated by the Syria crisis, Cameron said: “I take full and personal responsibility for the decision to recall Parliament, for the decision to take a strong and principled stand against the gassing of children in Syria, and I take full responsibility for putting forward as generous a motion I could, to bring as many people with me as I could.
“Everyone who voted has to live with the way that they voted. My only regret about what happened last week is that, having produced a motion in Parliament that was clear about going to the UN, that was clear about listening to the weapons inspectors, that was clear about having another vote before military action – all things that the opposition asked for – that even in spite of that, in my view, they chose the easy and political path not the right and the difficult path.”
Shadow Middle East Minister Ian Lucas said: “Last week Ed Miliband made clear that Parliament was not willing to write the Prime Minister a blank cheque for British military action. Parliament voted last week to stop the Prime Minister’s rush to war.”