UK Government ministers must not use the refugee crisis as “cover” for military intervention in Syria, Alex Salmond has said.
The SNP will lead a debate in the House of Commons this week on the issue as Prime Minister David Cameron faces pressure to extend RAF air strikes, with the worsening conflict threatening to drive more desperate people to seek sanctuary in Europe.
Chancellor George Osborne said the West was not doing enough to contain Islamic State, but was clear ministers would not risk a repeat of their Commons defeat two years ago when Labour joined with Tory rebels to vote down air strikes in Syria.
Writing in Monday’s Courier, SNP foreign affairs spokesman Mr Salmond says: “The crisis should not be used as a cover for military intervention by the UK in Syria.
“Airstrikes are already taking place on a daily basis by a US-led alliance, and since their advent the refugee crisis has intensified not diminished.
“To bomb both Daesh and Assad-controlled areas, as Chancellor Osborne has suggested, would not leave much of that benighted country unbombed.”
Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey became the latest figure to call for a renewed military effort to “crush” IS.
He also backed calls for British military intervention to help create “safe enclaves” within the country where civilians would be protected from attack.
His comments echoed a growing impatience among some Tory backbenchers, with former defence secretary Liam Fox saying “handwringing” about the plight of the refugees was not enough and action was needed to deal with the “root of the problem”.
Weekend opinion polls offered conflicting evidence of public support for military intervention, with YouGov in the Sun on Sunday showing 52% in favour and 22% against while Survation in the Mail on Sunday had just 29% for and 48% against.
Mr Osborne hinted that if Jeremy Corbyn wins the Labour leadership contest, ministers could try to seek support from Labour MPs opposed to him.
“We are not going to go back to the House of Commons unless we would be sure that we would get a different answer if we were asking to intervene,” he added.