Counter-ISIL Coalition Strategy

John Cryer Excerpts

Monday 20th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. A lot of colleagues are still seeking to catch my eye. I want to accommodate them all, but brevity is of the essence. Who will lead us in that important mission? I think that Mr Cryer will do so.

[John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

Let us be clear: the Secretary of State is here today not because he is a big fan of parliamentary accountability, but because he knew that there would be an urgent question and he did not want to look as though he had been dragged kicking and screaming to the House of Commons—he is doing a pretty good imitation of that anyway. Will he answer a question that was asked previously: how long has he known about British involvement in military strikes in Syria?

[Michael Fallon]

I have known about the embedding of UK personnel with our allies since I took up my post, and, as I said, when each deployment on operations takes place, my permission is required and was given.