Britain’s new Foreign Secretary arrives in post tainted by his role in preventing the UK from joining a coalition to stop former Syrian president Bashar Al Assad from killing his own people in 2013.
A former senior British ambassador has told The National the then-leader of the opposition's "irresponsible" handling of the vote had a long-term impact on how Britain was perceived in the Middle East.
New Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s team allocated the Foreign Office to Ed Miliband, reportedly concerned his strong left-wing views would spook the markets and lead to higher borrowing costs, should he take the role of Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Mr Miliband, the former energy secretary, helped install Mr Burnham in No 10 Downing Street.
That has led to a focus on his time as Labour leader, during which, in August 2013, he opposed the Conservative-led coalition government’s proposal to take military action against the Syrian regime at the height of the bloodbath against its citizens.
Lib Dem foreign affairs spokeswoman
The British government called an emergency vote on carrying out strikes against the Assad regime after it used sarin nerve gas in Ghouta, killing more than 1,400 people.
Joined by a few Tory rebels, Labour, still smarting from its decision to back the 2003 Iraq invasion, opposed the proposal, which failed by 285 votes to 272.
That in turn led to a failure of nerve by US president Barack Obama’s administration not to attack the Syrian regime, allowing Al Assad to massacre unchecked until America took military action in 2017.
Sir John Jenkins, a former British ambassador to Syria, said Mr Miliband's decision then had been "devious" and "irresponsible", with a long-term impact on how the Britain was perceived in the Middle East.
Mr Miliband had led David Cameron, prime minister at the time, to believe the Labour Party would vote in favour of the strikes, only to change tack at the last minute.
"It was a massive problem for Cameron. It looked as if Miliband would come through, that he would support [military action[" Mr Jenkins said. "[Miliband] was devious, looking for political advantage. It was irresponsible. He made Cameron look weak."
The UK government is not required to put decisions around military action to a vote, but Mr Cameron had done so because of concerns about foreign intervention in the wake of the Iraq invasion.
Foreign policy observers have argued that the UK vote created a power vacuum in the region, limiting western influence while altering the direction of the Syrian civil war.
"It was another example of the UK trying to dictate the security outcomes in the region without the capability to enforce them," Mr Jenkins said.
Others also believed it emboldened Russian President Vladimir Putin to annex Crimea in 2014.
“Obama, watching what happened to the vote that night, was put off launching military action despite the ‘red lines’ crossed,” tweeted Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokeswoman Monica Harding. “The [Labour] vote may have prolonged the civil war and emboldened Putin. Let’s hope he shows more backbone this time round.”
Part of the reason for 30 Conservative rebels and Labour opposing the action was the legacy of poor intelligence on weapons of mass destruction before the Iraq invasion in 2003, which led to deep distrust of the accurate MI6 reports that Al Assad was using sarin alongside barrel bombs.
Mr Jenkins dismissed Mr Miliband's claims that evidence supplied by British and US intelligence reports was insufficient.
Mr Miliband showed no signs of regret over his decision after the Assad regime was toppled in December 2024.
About 600,000 Syrians were killed, most of them civilians opposing Al Assad, with at least 13.7 million displaced. The refugee crisis that followed had political repercussions in Europe. Major Syrian cities were flattened by the Syrian army backed by Russian forces and Iranian proxies.
Despite the criticism, in his first message as Foreign Secretary, Mr Miliband pledged that he would strive to end the suffering of Palestinians in the Middle East.
The politician, born to Jewish immigrant parents, promised to work “tirelessly to seek a sustainable peace in Palestine and Israel, including an end to the terrible suffering of the people of Gaza” and to get “security for the people of Israel”.
From Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “to conflict in the Middle East, time and again we have seen the consequences of a more dangerous world”, he added.
Britain would also play its part “to seek to end the conflict in Iran and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz”.
With the US-Iran war in full swing, Mr Miliband faced the options of allowing the UK to play a "more constructive muscular role" in the region or to "stay out" of the conflict, Mr Jenkins said.
"There was a lot of virtue signalling going on under Starmer. If you want to build confidence you need to have the ability to project force, you need to be able to deliver," he said.
Meanwhile, lower-rank changes to the UK Foreign Office ministerial team are expected. Middle East minister Hamish Falconer was promoted to cabinet attendee with responsibility for intergovernmental and European relations. Jenny Chapman, the development minister, quit the government after Keir Starmer's departure as prime minister.
