Proceedings have just started. Here's what's coming up. David Cameron's statement on the Strategic Defence and Security review will come after defence questions.

Image source, Parliament

The Daily Politics

 "Fit young" Syrian men in refugee camps should be trained and put into units to "reinforce" local forces fighting in the country, the former head of the Army Lord Dannatt told Daily Politics.

Birmingham Mail

Birmingham City Council, one of the largest local authorities in the UK, is warning of a black hole in the city's finances ahead of  Wednesday's spending review. The Post has spoken to a council official, external who says an increase in permitted council tax rises would be "nowhere near proportionate to the scale of the problem we have".

Image source, Getty Images

If a picture really does tell a thousand words, the smashing and slicing up of RAF Nimrods in an industrial shredder after the last defence review said one thing loud and clear - that Britain's defence capability was on the wane, and perhaps, its military influence along with it.

Now we arrive at the next big-ticket Strategic Defence and Security Review the prime minister is delivering today, and the tone could hardly be more different.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon and his boss are outlining what they consider to be a new and improved defence capability, not just to protect Britain more effectively but helping to defeat the so-called Islamic State and, crucially, "projecting our values around the world".

And there's added edge to their arguments today, making their case just ten days after the terrorist outrage in Paris.

Read Laura's blog in full

Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

The BBC's assistant political editor Norman Smith says he expects events with regard to Syria to move quickly. The PM's statement to Parliament making the case for military action could be on Thursday, he understands. After that, it is expected No 10 will take a couple of days for soundings of MPs to see how it has gone down.  A vote could follow in a matter of days.

The Daily Politics

Speaking about the Spending Review and Autumn Statement on Daily Politics earlier, Rafael Behr a political columnist at the Guardian said if Labour was a "credible opposition" they could argue the chancellor hasn't done very well at reducing the deficit, adding the pain hasn't been followed by gain. 

He said the chancellor had quite a bit of political room for manoeuvre as Labour don't have "a credible approach to dealing with the fiscal situation".

Tom Newton Dunn, political editor of the Sun, said there were very few departments that weren't ring-fenced and would therefore receive "massive cuts".

He said one place the chancellor could look for extra funds was civil service and armed service pay which could be frozen to save "many, many billions". On tax credit cuts he said Mr Osborne had "really messed this up politically very badly".

Victoria Derbyshire

The Daily Politics

Stephen Low, Labour Party activist says "Mr Streeting should be accountable to the Labour Party". He says he expects "Labour MPs to back Labour policy". 

The two members of the party were speaking in a debate on whether Labour should be allowed a free vote on Syrian air strikes. 

Mr Streeting says he is accountable to his constituents who he keeps in mind when voting on legislation.

There is an on-going debate in the party on the issue of whether the UK should extend its bombing of IS targets into Syria. Put simply, leader Jeremy Corbyn appears unlikely to back that idea - as do many of those who voted to make him leader of the party - but many Labour MPs, including some shadow cabinet members, disagree and would vote in favour of action in Syria.

The Daily Politics

Speaking about whether Labour should have a free vote on Syrian air strikes, Wes Streeting says the party has to have a free vote. 

Mr Streeting says he fears the issue of Syria will be overshadowed by whether Labour MPs are loyal to Mr Corbyn. 

He says Jeremy Corbyn's "views are so different to where the Labour Party has traditionally been since 1945". 

He says the party needs "to get real" about where the Labour Party sits in relation to policies passed at party conference. 

The prime minister has also been talking about the UK's military capabilities and how they affect the country's global standing. This comes ahead of the publication of the strategic defence and security review this afternoon, to be announced to MPs at 15:30 GMT

Speaking at RAF Northolt on his return to the UK from Paris, David Cameron says his parliamentary statement later this week will set out in full how the UK can contribute more to fighting so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

The Daily Politics

Former army head, Lord Richard Dannatt says he supports bombing in Syria.

He says bombing should be a "precursor" to sorting the situation out on the ground but without using UK troops.

He says the "fit, young men" coming as refugees to the Europe should be held in camps and trained to fight back in Syria and build their country. He acknowledged this was a controversial idea.

The Daily Politics

Speaking on announcements today on more funding for UK defence, former head of the army, Lord Richard Dannatt, welcomed the plans for strike brigades, but says they could have been created "10 years ago". 

He says the government deserve "some credit" as they inherited a financial "black hole" from the previous government. Adding it was not surprising some "ugly things were done".

The Daily Politics

Labour's Wes Streeting says the UN mandate was "broad and unexpected" but adds it doesn't change Labour's position on air strikes. They will wait to hear from the prime minister about his proposals. 

Streeting says he will vote "reluctantly" with his conscience rather than following the party whip.

Johnny Mercer, Conservative MP, says "surgical intervention" is required in Syria in order to keep the UK safe.  

The Daily Politics

Speaking on the Daily Politics about the air strikes in Syria Conservative MP Johnny Mercer says the proposed military action would make a difference. But adds "some sort of ground troops are needed" to go with the air strikes and he says it needs to be part of a "wider strategy". 

He says Kurdish forces are already  on the ground and a "broader coalition" needs to be built. He says the government is trying to help provide an "indigenous solution" to the problem by providing the tools and support.