UK government urged to seek MPs' approval before sending troops to Middle East

Lib Dems push for a say in whether Britain joins any military action

Royal Navy frigate HMS Richmond, currently in port in Jakarta, Indonesia, has recently been deployed to the Middle East. AP

The UK government is facing calls to seek the approval of MPs if it intends to deploy British forces to conflicts in the Middle East.

MPs should be given a choice over sending troops to the region before the UK follows another US president into war, the Liberal Democrats have said.

The party's foreign affairs spokesman, Calum Miller, said such a decision should be subject to “the strongest democratic scrutiny”, by giving MPs a vote in the House of Commons.

The Armed Forces (Deployment Outside the UK) Bill, tabled by Mr Miller, would mandate parliamentary approval before sending the UK’s armed forces into overseas conflict zones.

It says retrospective parliamentary approval could be granted in cases of emergency military deployments or responses.

Parliamentarians have voted on whether to go to war before, and the decision essentially rests on whether the prime minister of the time feels a moral obligation to gain approval from the House of Commons.

Parliament has no legally established role and the government is under no legal obligation with respect to its conduct, including keeping parliament informed. In practice, however, successive governments have consulted and informed the Commons about the decision to use force and the progress of military campaigns.

MPs gave their approval to Tony Blair’s government to take action in Iraq in 2003 when they voted in favour.

In August 2013, MPs vetoed British intervention in the war in Syria, defeating the motion put forward by David Cameron’s government. He became the first prime minister in more than 200 years to lose a vote on military action, which he accepted.

The UK took no action in Syria at that point, although Theresa May ordered an operation in Syria five years later without a vote.

Mr Starmer opposed the invasion of Iraq and military action against ISIS in Syria.

Britain's then prime minister Theresa May making a statement in the House of Commons in April 2018 over her decision to launch air strikes against Syria. PA

Polling by Savanta, commissioned by the Lib Dems, revealed 57 per cent of people believe Parliament should vote on any UK military action in Iran.

Mr Miller said: “With the Middle East in the throes of an all-out regional war, we are reckoning once again with the prospect of the UK becoming embroiled in foreign conflict.

“No one knows the fragility of peace in that region, or the price paid for our safety, better than our British troops. It’s critical that, if they are asked to put their lives on the line for the UK in active conflict zones, this decision is subject to the strongest democratic scrutiny our country can offer.

“If the government chooses to put our troops directly in the line of fire, Parliament must be granted a vote on that choice before they are deployed – especially now, as the Prime Minister weighs up following another American president into war in the Middle East.”

The bill is expected to have its first reading in the Commons on Wednesday.