UK set to join air strikes in Syria

Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn is flanked by Prime Minister David Cameron with Tony Blair and John Major in the background. Photo / AP

British Prime Minister David Cameron is preparing to give the go-ahead for air strikes on Isis tomorrow after Opposition Leader Jeremy Corbyn was forced into a climbdown by his shadow cabinet which gave the Government the green light to launch bombing raids in Syria.

The Prime Minister was today to tell his Cabinet that he would call a Commons vote on whether to launch bombing raids on Isis targets tomorrow.

His decision came after the Labour leader was forced into a U-turn which saw him agreeing to let his MPs and ministers vote with their conscience on whether to back plans to bomb Isis (Islamic State) - just days after insisting the party would reach a collective decision.

In a fractious meeting of the shadow cabinet, Corbyn was also forced to back down on a plan to make it Labour Party policy to formally oppose air strikes.

In the biggest crisis of his short leadership of the party, Corbyn was "shouted down" by shadow ministers over his attempts to force them into opposing the Government's plans.

Labour sources said that about 100 of the party's MPs were expected to back Cameron following Corbyn's decision to give them a free vote.

It means that Cameron now has a clear Commons majority, allowing him to press ahead with plans for a UK bombing campaign.

Cameron said: "I will be recommending to the Cabinet that there be a debate and vote in the House of Commons on a motion to participate in coalition airstrikes against Isis in Syria."

He added: "It is in the national interest, it's the right thing to do, we'll be acting with our allies, we'll be careful and responsible as we do so but in my view it's right to do this to help to keep our country safe."

The Labour dispute leaves Corbyn badly damaged and opens him up to a plot by his opponents to oust him. Cameron in 2013 faced humiliation when 30 of his backbenchers joined with Labour to defeat his plans for air strikes.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday accused Turkey of secretly purchasing oil from Isis, and claimed that the decision to shoot down a Russian warplane last week was motivated by the desire to protect the flow of oil from the terrorist group. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish President, denied the allegations and said he would resign if it could be proved that Turkey had bought oil from Isis.

Turkey and Russia have been engaged in a bitter war of words since Turkey shot down a Russian jet near the Syrian border last month. Putin and Erdogan traded accusations as they took their respective turns at the podium at the climate summit in Paris. There was no meeting between the two.

Putin and US President Barack Obama held talks in Paris on Syria as world leaders took the opportunity to discuss the conflict.

Obama "expressed regret over the incident with the Russian plane" during the 30-minute meeting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. The two leaders held detailed talks on Syria and agreed that the crisis required a political solution, Peskov said. A White House official said Obama stressed the need for military efforts to be focused on defeating Isis, rather than targeting moderate opposition groups in Syria.

Putin also held talks with China's President Xi Jinping, who said they should meet regularly because "the situation in the world is changing quickly".

Questions remained over the broader goal in Syria beyond military strikes, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's future in any transition and the fate of those fleeing war toward European nations that are increasingly reluctant to take them.

Syria and its fallout ensure that "the internal political, economic and social challenges will go on to overshadow not only 2016 but will shake the very foundations of the EU" and its economic and monetary union, said Alastair Winter, chief economist at Daniel Stewart & Co. in London. "No wonder [French President Francois] Hollande wants to tackle the problem at its root and is willing to work with anyone in doing so." Telegraph Group Ltd, Washington Post - Bloomberg