Syria intervention: Downing Street rules out new vote
David Cameron's spokesman says government will respect last week's vote as poll suggests 75% of public back MPs' decision
A return to parliament for a fresh vote on possible military action in Syria has been ruled out as Downing Street played down the prospect of a diplomatic initiative being launched at the G20 summit in St Petersburg.
Numerous voices, including former cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell, have been insisting that last week's Commons vote need not be the last word in the event of a further chemical weapons attack by Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's troops.
But the prime minister's spokesman said: "Parliament has spoken. The government has absolutely no plans to go back to parliament. In response to the use of chemical weapons, the government made the case for a robust response. It put before the house the joint intelligence committee paper.
"The government made its case and parliament expressed its view. Parliament has made clear its will that there be no British involvement in military action and we will respect that."
The comments came as a poll for the BBC revealed almost three-quarters of people believe MPs were right to reject British military intervention in the two-year civil war.
The spokesman also appeared to rule out the use of government bases for any attack, but in practice no decision will be made until the US Congress has debated the issue next week.
Cameron was informed by the White House of Obama's surprise decision to consult Congress minutes before the American president made the announcement on Saturday.
Mitchell, a former international development secretary, told BBC Radio 4's World at One: "I think it's very important in this rapidly moving situation that we don't rule anything out.
"It may be, after lengthy and careful consideration, Congress affirms its support for the president's plans and, in the light of that, our parliament may want to consider this matter further."
He added that there had been further evidence and a reported attack on a school using a napalm-like substance since the vote.
"I think, in the light of that, not least given the fact that the House of Commons declined to support either the government motion or the opposition motion, we should certainly keep our options open and that would certainly include the possibility of this returning to the House of Commons for further discussion and a further decision."
The delay in any military action pushes the focus in the short term on to whether Assad's chief ally, Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, will launch any diplomatic initiative at the G20 summit that he hosts on Thursday and Friday. Putin arguably has a responsibility to show how a diplomatic route could work.
Cameron attempted to restart the Geneva diplomatic talks on Syria at the G8 summit he hosted in Northern Ireland, but little emerged save an agreement to start talks leading to a transitional government.
Numerous stumbling blocks remain, including the lack of agreement about the attendance list at any conference and whether Iran should be allowed to attend. Britain is not discounting Iranian involvement.
Cameron, forced to rule himself out of military action, will go to the G20 summit with less to offer. His spokesman said Britain would use all institutions to try to find a political solution that brings an end to the conflict.
Relations between the US and Russia are at a low partly due to the Syrian impasse, and partly due to the Russian decision to grant a visa to Edward Snowden, the US contractor responsible for leaking reams about the US intelligence operation. A planned bilateral meeting between Obama and Putin has been cancelled, and Obama will need to use the G20 to make the case to Congress of the need to punish Assad for the use of chemical weapons.
The prime minister's spokesman said the G20 would be an opportunity to persuade the Russian president about Assad's use of chemical weapons. So far Putin has said there is no concrete evidence.
UN weapons inspectors left Syria on Saturday and are due to report within a fortnight. They have not been asked to assign responsibility for the use of the weapons, only to say whether they were used in Syria on 21 August.
The mood in the Cameron camp appears to be that there is little purpose given the mood in the country and in his own party to press the case for further military action, and the onus now shifts to Obama.
Almost three-quarters of people believe MPs were right to reject UK military action in Syria, a poll commissioned by the BBC suggests.
Voters appeared split on their opinion of the way the prime minister was handling the situation, with 42% disapproving and 40% approving it.
Labour leader Ed Miliband's handling of the situation was disapproved of by 39% of the public, while 33% approved. Seventy-one percent of people thought MPs were right to stop the government participating in an international military response, while 20% thought they were wrong.
The poll also suggested 72% did not think the move would damage Britain's relationship with America – and two-thirds said they would not care if it did. ICM Research spoke to 1,000 adults in England, Scotland and Wales by telephone between Friday and Monday.
Numerous voices, including former cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell, have been insisting that last week's Commons vote need not be the last word in the event of a further chemical weapons attack by Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's troops.
But the prime minister's spokesman said: "Parliament has spoken. The government has absolutely no plans to go back to parliament. In response to the use of chemical weapons, the government made the case for a robust response. It put before the house the joint intelligence committee paper.
"The government made its case and parliament expressed its view. Parliament has made clear its will that there be no British involvement in military action and we will respect that."
The comments came as a poll for the BBC revealed almost three-quarters of people believe MPs were right to reject British military intervention in the two-year civil war.
The spokesman also appeared to rule out the use of government bases for any attack, but in practice no decision will be made until the US Congress has debated the issue next week.
Cameron was informed by the White House of Obama's surprise decision to consult Congress minutes before the American president made the announcement on Saturday.
Mitchell, a former international development secretary, told BBC Radio 4's World at One: "I think it's very important in this rapidly moving situation that we don't rule anything out.
"It may be, after lengthy and careful consideration, Congress affirms its support for the president's plans and, in the light of that, our parliament may want to consider this matter further."
He added that there had been further evidence and a reported attack on a school using a napalm-like substance since the vote.
"I think, in the light of that, not least given the fact that the House of Commons declined to support either the government motion or the opposition motion, we should certainly keep our options open and that would certainly include the possibility of this returning to the House of Commons for further discussion and a further decision."
The delay in any military action pushes the focus in the short term on to whether Assad's chief ally, Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, will launch any diplomatic initiative at the G20 summit that he hosts on Thursday and Friday. Putin arguably has a responsibility to show how a diplomatic route could work.
Cameron attempted to restart the Geneva diplomatic talks on Syria at the G8 summit he hosted in Northern Ireland, but little emerged save an agreement to start talks leading to a transitional government.
Numerous stumbling blocks remain, including the lack of agreement about the attendance list at any conference and whether Iran should be allowed to attend. Britain is not discounting Iranian involvement.
Cameron, forced to rule himself out of military action, will go to the G20 summit with less to offer. His spokesman said Britain would use all institutions to try to find a political solution that brings an end to the conflict.
Relations between the US and Russia are at a low partly due to the Syrian impasse, and partly due to the Russian decision to grant a visa to Edward Snowden, the US contractor responsible for leaking reams about the US intelligence operation. A planned bilateral meeting between Obama and Putin has been cancelled, and Obama will need to use the G20 to make the case to Congress of the need to punish Assad for the use of chemical weapons.
The prime minister's spokesman said the G20 would be an opportunity to persuade the Russian president about Assad's use of chemical weapons. So far Putin has said there is no concrete evidence.
UN weapons inspectors left Syria on Saturday and are due to report within a fortnight. They have not been asked to assign responsibility for the use of the weapons, only to say whether they were used in Syria on 21 August.
The mood in the Cameron camp appears to be that there is little purpose given the mood in the country and in his own party to press the case for further military action, and the onus now shifts to Obama.
Almost three-quarters of people believe MPs were right to reject UK military action in Syria, a poll commissioned by the BBC suggests.
Voters appeared split on their opinion of the way the prime minister was handling the situation, with 42% disapproving and 40% approving it.
Labour leader Ed Miliband's handling of the situation was disapproved of by 39% of the public, while 33% approved. Seventy-one percent of people thought MPs were right to stop the government participating in an international military response, while 20% thought they were wrong.
The poll also suggested 72% did not think the move would damage Britain's relationship with America – and two-thirds said they would not care if it did. ICM Research spoke to 1,000 adults in England, Scotland and Wales by telephone between Friday and Monday.
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