News by email Donate

Suggestions

Top Stories

Most Read

Popular Videos

Dominic-Grieve-main_article_image.jpg
Dominic Grieve
World News

Christian MPs weigh in on emergency Syria debate

The discussion, requested by Jeremy Corbyn, follows Britain's decisions on Saturday to join the US and France in launching missile strikes on suspected chemical warfare facilities in Syria.

Rachael Maskell is among politicians supporting a call by her party's leader for a new War Powers Act to require ministers to consult MPs first before taking such action in the future.

Speaking with Premier, the representative for York Central said: "I was deeply concerned that the Prime Minister - when she had time - did not recall Parliament on such an important issue.

"I believe it was incumbent on her to make sure that Parliament - to which she is accountable - had the opportunity to debate the issue of whether or not action should be taken and, if so, what action should look like.

Rachael added: "I want Theresa May to understand her accountability before the House and ensure she does adopt Labour's call for a War Powers Act and that she is accountable to that Act for the actions that she calls on from her Government and, ultimately, our armed forces."

Conservative MP and former attorney general, Dominic Grieve told Premier that it would have been "very difficult" for Theresa May to brief politicians on Saturday's "highly specific operation", in light of the need to protect confidential details.

He said: "The reality is that if we debated this last week, the Government would have been unable to tell us exactly what it was going to do and the difficult reality would have been that we would have all been floundering around thinking very different things about what the Government had in mind.

"I do have some concern as to whether the debate would have been particularly constructive."

Mr Grieve added: "That said, I think the basic principle that you should seek parliamentary authorisation before taking military action is a perfectly sound one and I don't think the Prime Minister disagrees with that."

Click here to listen to Premier's Alex Williams speaking with Rachael Maskell:

Click here to listen to Alex speaking with Dominic Grieve:

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.

A Monthly Gift Of $11 Makes A World Of Difference

In a world of fake news there’s never been a greater need for quality Christian journalism. Premier’s mission is to provide the Church with the most up to date and relevant news, told from a Christian perspective. But we can’t do it without you.

Unlike many websites we haven't put up a paywall — we want to keep our journalism free at the point of need and as open as we can. Premier’s news output takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. No one in the USA is sharing news like we are across radio, magazines and online so please help us to continue that today.

For a monthly gift of $11 or more we’d also be able to send you a free copy of the brand new Premier Bible, a wonderful Anglicised version of the NLT packed with exclusive bonus content, reading plan and resources to help you get the most out of scripture.

Your monthly support will make a world of difference. Thank you.

Support Us
Continue the conversation on our Facebook page

Related Articles

Sign up to our newsletter to stay informed with news from a Christian perspective.

News by email

Connect

Donate

Donate