Theresa May came to the House today to explain why the UK joined in the strikes on Syria’s chemical weapons facilities and why she had not consulted the House first. May argued, rightly, that there was no prospect of getting UN authorisation for action because Russia would simply veto anything that affected its client regime in Damascus. She also pointed out that if the democratic world had failed to act against Assad following these attacks, we would be slipping back to a time when the use of chemical weapons was regarded as normal.
But, perhaps, the most controversial part of her statement was on why she had not consulted parliament first. May argued that the need for speed, the fact that not all the intelligence could be shared with MPs and the fact the strike was limited and targeted justified not asking parliament’s permission first.
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