The international community, including France and America, should be focusing "their efforts into a peace process" rather than bombing IS in Syria, Jeremy Corbyn said.

Asked if he would call on the US and France to stop bombing Syria if he was in government, he said:

He said the focus should be on the Vienna process and addressing issues such as the financing of IS - and said bombing Syria would kill civilians.

In what circumstances would Mr Corbyn back Westminster military action if he was prime minister? It’s "a hypothetical question”, the Labour leader said and once again stressed the need for a political solution.

Pressed again, he told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg there had to be circumstances where “everyone believed it was the only alternative”, and added:

Jeremy Corbyn said he hoped tomorrow’s debate in the Commons would be "intelligent, good-natured and reasonable” and recognise that “another war… isn’t going to bring about a solution”.

All the effort, he said, should be put on bringing about a political solution to the Syrian civil war.

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Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has done a sit-down interview with BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg. He said it’s been “an interesting 24 hours” during which he abandoned a bid to adopt a party policy of opposition to air strikes after a number of his front benchers protested.

But he adds that “more than 75%” of Labour Party members have indicated they oppose air strikes.

Mr Corbyn, who has given his MPs a free vote, but said: “Do I want all Labour MPs to vote against the war? Obviously I do. Obviously I will continue to try to encourage them in that direction.”

Two former Cabinet heavy-hitters, William Hague and Liam Fox, are appearing before the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee where they are being asked about the strategy behind the UK's military intervention in Libya in 2011 and what has happened since. Given tomorrow's vote on military action in Syria and warnings from opponents that the international community risks inflaming the situation - as has been claimed with regard to Libya - this has made interesting watching. 

Dr Fox, who was defence secretary at the time, says the military was keen not to be "drawn into a conflict uneccessarily" but the threat of an impending massacre in Benghazi, and the passing of a UN resolution authorising action to protect civilians, concentrated minds. 

Mr Hague, who was foreign secretary, also defends the intervention, saying the international community was asked to step in to prevent the risk of massive bloodshed and it would have been "an enormous gamble" to believe that Colonel Gaddafi's forces would have taken Benghazi without a shot being fired. But he adds that this "does not mean that everything (in Libya) has turned out to our satisfaction, to put it mildly". 

Image source, Science Photo Library

Northern Ireland Health Minister Simon Hamilton has circulated new draft guidelines on current abortion law and practice to his Executive colleagues.

It follows a ruling that abortion legislation in Northern Ireland is in breach of human rights law.

Currently, termination of pregnancy is only allowed if a woman's life is at risk or there is a permanent or serious risk to her mental or physical health.

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) brought the case.

More here.

Image source, AFP

More than half of Welsh Labour MPs will vote against extending air strikes against Islamic State militants to Syria, BBC Wales research has found.

Thirteen of the 25 Labour MPs said they would join their party leader Jeremy Corbyn and Plaid Cymru's three MPs in rejecting the plan on Wednesday.

Shadow cabinet member Chris Bryant is the only Welsh Labour MP to publicly declare support for wider military action.

Seven of the 11 Welsh Conservative MPs have, so far, said they will back David Cameron's plan.

More here.

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Parliament

Peers are to hold a full debate on Wednesday on possible military action against the so-called Islamic State group in Syria.

The scheduled business - consideration of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill - has been psotponed to allow time for the debate.

Peers will not hold a vote at the end of the debate, as the motion is to "take note" of the government's proposals.

So far, more than 40 peers, including former Army chief Lord Dannatt, and former Lib Dem leader Paddy Ashdown, have put their names down to speak - although the Lords has no vote on whether to take military action.

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Labour MP Chi Onwurah tells the BBC she is opposed to the government's motion on Syria air strikes. She says there are "other means and measures" to tackle IS, including by cutting off its funds from oil. She also suggests the UK should work with the United Nations to develop a plan that includes local ground forces in Syria.

Image source, Ian Bowie

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed she will represent Scotland at the UN global climate change summit in France.

The SNP leader plans to hold a series of bilateral meetings at the Paris event.

Scotland has signed the Climate Group's Compact of States and Regions, a group representing state and regional governments.

The first minister has said Scotland can be seen as a "model for climate action".

 More here.

Image source, Getty Images

Labour has launched its campaign for the UK to stay in the EU, claiming the country's security depends on its continued membership.

The campaign, led by ex-Home Secretary Alan Johnson, will be run separately to the cross-party, pro-EU campaign.

He said the Paris attacks underlined the need for Britain to "stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies in Europe".

Campaigners for an exit said the EU had not responded quickly enough to terror threats, making the UK less safe.

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Image source, Head of the UK Border Force

Sir Charles Montgomery, the head of the UK Border Force, is answering questions from MPs about what immigration officials have been doing since the Paris attacks to help identify any suspected extremists leaving or entering the country.

He tells the Home Affairs Committee that the Border Force does not have powers of arrest but is referring "over 100" people every week to the police and other counter-terrorism agencies following "questioning and profiling" of selected individuals at ports of entry into the UK.

But he tells Labour MP Chuka Umunna, one of the committee's members, that he should not read too much into the figure.

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