Environment Secretary Ed Miliband has said he does not regret voting in 2013 to block UK military action against then-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Then-Prime Minister David Cameron wanted to attack Syria, after reports that Assad had used deadly chemical weapons on his own civilians in Damascus.
However, Miliband, who was leading the Labor Party at the time, instructed his MPs to vote against the proposal, preventing the UK from participating in any action.
Speaking on Friday, Miliband defended his decision, saying there was “no clear plan” and he did not want to put British troops in “harm”.
He told the BBC’s Today program that he did not believe the arguments that if the West had taken military action in 2013, Assad would have fallen sooner.
He argued that the US had bombed Syria in 2017 and 2018 and that this had not led to regime change in the country.
Appearing in Question Time, Miliband’s cabinet colleague Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who was not an MP at the time, said: “I think we can look back on the events of 2013 and say that this country and America His reluctance had created a vacuum. Russia stepped in and kept Assad in power for a long time.
“We cannot say that backing Assad will lead to a better Syria.”
Assad fled to Russia last week after decades of rule by the Assad family ended after rebel forces seized the Syrian capital.
During his rule, Human Rights Watch documented at least 85 chemical weapons attacks in Syria, most of which were carried out by the Syrian government – which he has denied.
Victims of chemical attacks Talking to the BBC.This includes Tawfiq Dayam, whose wife and four children were killed in 2018.
In 2013, Cameron said the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government was “morally indefensible” and asked MPs to approve a military action clause to prevent further use of such weapons.
Military action would have taken the form of US-led airstrikes instead of ground attacks.
The motion was defeated by 285 votes to 272, with Labour, 30 Conservatives and nine Lib Dems voting against.
After the vote, Cameron said it was clear Parliament did not want to act and he would “act accordingly”.
Although then-US President Barack Obama said he would punish any use of chemical weapons by Syria, he did not follow through due to a lack of support from other allies, including Britain.