MPs back action against Gaddafi

2011-03-22 15:21:23

22 March 2011 Last updated at 02:05 Share this page Delicious Digg Facebook reddit StumbleUpon Twitter Email Print MPs back United Nations action against Col Gaddafi

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RAF Typhoon jets took off for their first mission in Libya on Monday evening

Labour veteran MP Dennis Skinner told the prime minister: "It is easy to get into a war; it is harder to end it. When will we know what the circumstances are for pulling out and ending the war?"

Mr Cameron replied: "This is different to Iraq. This is not going into a country, knocking over its government and then owning and being responsible for everything that happens subsequently. This is about protecting people and giving the Libyan people a chance to shape their own destiny."

Several MPs questioned why action was being taken in Libya, but not in Yemen or Bahrain, which have also been using violence to crack down on protests.

Labour leader Ed Miliband said he supported the action, arguing it was "a just cause, with a feasible mission, and it has international support".

"We have seen with our own eyes what the Libya regime is capable of," he said.

"We have seen guns being used on unarmed demonstrators. We have watched warplanes and artillery being used against civilian population centres. We have learned of militia violence and disappearances in areas held by Gaddafi forces."

Continue reading the main story MOTION DEBATED That this House welcomes United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973; deplores the ongoing use of violence by the Libyan regime; acknowledges the demonstrable need, regional support and clear legal basis for urgent action to protect the people of Libya; accordingly supports the government, working with others, in the taking of all necessary measures to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in Libya and to enforce the no-fly zone, including the use of UK armed forces and military assets in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973; and offers its wholehearted support to the men and women of Her Majesty's armed forces In quotes: Target Gaddafi? UK army chief: Gaddafi not target Analysis: No blank cheque for PM

But Labour MP David Winnick, who was not expected to support the motion, said: "Many innocent people are going to be killed or slaughtered - whatever word you're are going to use - because it can't otherwise be the situation."

Ahead of the debate, the government published a note saying action was legal.

It set out the basis for UN Resolution 1973, finding the UN Security Council had "determined that the situation in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya constitutes a threat to international peace and security" and aimed to restore it under Chapter Seven of the UN Charter.

The parliamentary motion, tabled by the government, asked MPs to support action "in accordance" with the resolution and to "acknowledge the demonstrable need, regional support and clear legal basis for urgent action to protect the people of Libya".

The UK government does not require Parliament's approval to deploy troops. However, in practice, governments have involved MPs by scheduling debates, statements and - as with the 2003 Iraq invasion - sometimes substantive votes on proposals to do so.

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