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Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, says that he believes the debate which has taken place this evening should have happened before the strikes were authorised.

The Labour leader says that twice the UK Parliament has been asked to vote on Syria intervention, and both times, Parliament has been "heavily divided".

He says that the Syrian people have been treated as expendable by too many sides. He says the Geneva process has previously led to the destruction of chemical weapons in Syria before, and adds that diplomatic efforts are tough, but can have real results.

It is in the best interests of everyone to act consistently with the Charter of the United Nations and to respect the rule of law internationally, he says.

He says that, ironically, selective intervention can undermine an international legal process. He states that the UK must consider the future of children growing up in refugee camps, he asks if the government has done enough to help refugees; he argues not.

The chemical weapons attack was "unbelievably disgusting, illegal and wrong," he adds.

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SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford says that the "absolute horror" of chemical weapons and warfare were "laid bare".

No MPs could have been unmoved by the pictures of children in Syria being attacked in such a way, he states.

He asks the prime minister to condemn the "thoughtless" tweets sent out by the US President in relation to airstrikes on Syria before they took place.

It is regrettable that the House of Commons has not been able to fully debate the situation in Syria in three hours, he says - and he adds that the SNP will seek to divide the House when it comes to vote later on so that Syria can be debated further.

He says that the UK owes it to the people of Syria to work on bringing an end to the crisis in Syria and efforts must be made to restart peace talks in Geneva.

The prime minister did not endear herself to MPs by signing up to action without consulting them.

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Conservative Sarah Wollaston says that the nerve agents used in the attack in Syria are "indiscriminate" in attacking people, require intensive care facilities and are persistent.

The nerve agent causes incontinence, fluid to fill the lungs and paralysis and involuntary twitching of muscles, painful blurring of vision and severe abdominal pains.

She says she regrets her vote in 2013, as at the time Iraq was still hanging over the debate on military intervention in Syria, she adds.

This is absolutely the UK's fight, she says, it is a fight in Salisbury and around the world.

She says she fully supports the prime minister and believes that the response was proportionate to what had taken place.

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Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas says that the government must do whatever has the best chance of reducing suffering in the region. She says she is still yet to be convinced that these strikes will do that.

She says the work of waging peace is much more difficult than waging war.

There is a vast amount the UK should be doing, such as further sanctions against Russia. She states that new sanctions imposed by the US have had a real affect on the Russian economy, and must be carried out even if there is a cost to the UK economy.

The UK must invest in its own "moral authority," which means advancing human rights in countries and prohibiting arms sales to Saudi Arabia, she says.

The International Criminal Court must be resourced so leaders in regimes such as Syria to face the full retributions for their crimes, she says and MPs must make that moral decision on Syria in a free vote and not have the decision "outsourced" to the party whips.

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Labour's John Woodcock says the airstrikes were the right decision and the RAF have executed the strikes in a professional way in order to minimise collateral damage.

He says that the government says it wants to avoid escalation, but this is a regime which uses chemical weapons as part of a well worked out scheme of violence against its own people.

He adds that "when the right, targeted intervention is taken, it can have a real effect on the people of Syria".

"It is not a wider attack to try and influence the civil war, but it was to try and help the population of the country," he tells MPs.

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The SNP's Martin Docherty-Hughes argues that the "Westminster paradox has created a new normal" where the UK can take part in military intervention without prior consent from Parliament, which he says is more aligned to the Kremlin.

It is now the UK government policy that UN Security Council resolutions no longer apply to the UK, he claims, adding that Putin will now be "rubbing his hands" at the prospect of some people believing the UK is acting without permission from the UN.

The "corrupt regime" in Moscow will stop at nothing to "prop up" the regime in Damascus, he warns.

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Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesperson Jo Swinson says that the fact there has been no civilian casualties shows the good work by the armed forces.

She says there was a "vacuum" in not speaking to Parliament before the attack took place, and now the UK needs to get a "wider international buy-in" in order to get far-reaching support for work in Syria.

Ms Swinson says that there are "genuine concerns" about the US president, relating to his temperament and the ability of the prime minister, or sensible people within the White House to communicate to President Trump.

"Anyone who says this is simple, and that there is an obvious explanation, fail to understand the complexity of what needs to be done in the country," she says.

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Conservative chair of the Defence Committee, Julian Lewis, says the situation in Syria is totally different to that in Iraq.

It is a choice between "monsters and maniacs", he warns, either the Assad regime or "vicious Islamist factions".

Only the Kurdish militia in Syria are acceptable to the UK, he says, but now they are under threat from actions being carried out by the Turkish government.

He calls on the UK government to impress on Russia that the action taken was to prevent further chemical attacks, and was not the "thin end of a wedge into regime change".

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Labour's Hilary Benn says there are no victors from in the Syrian war, only victims: the 400,000 people who have been killed, and the half of the population who have been forced to flee.

He says that it remains to be seen what affect the airstrikes will have against the Syrian regime, but it is important to gain the support of Parliament.

Military action is never without risk, he adds, and this is particularly so in the current situation, from many sides, in Syria.

The truth is that airstrikes will not end the civil war in the country, and may not end the use of chemical weapons, he adds.

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Conservative MP Ken Clarke congratulates Alison McGovern on her speech, but says he fears she has a "somewhat idealistic" view of how to solve the problems in Syria.

He says that if the government hadn't responded in the way they had, then there was a very real danger that the use of chemical weapons would have become more widespread.

He adds that had the government not acted last weekend, President Assad would have "undoubtedly" used larger chemical weapons on the city of Idlib.

He believes that the government has acted courageously in the national interest, he tells MPs.

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Labour's Alison McGovern opens the emergency debate on the situation in Syria.

She says the UK should ask what can be done to protect human life, telling MPs that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has attacked his own citizens "on an almost daily basis".

However she says MPs should refrain from acting as "armchair generals", adding: "barrel bombs should not be dropped on the heads of children, it's as simple as that," she states.

Adding that current sanctions against the country are inefficient, she calls for the UK to consider removing Syria from fast financial transactions.

She also says the government target to take in 20,000 Syrian refugees by 2020 is not enough, and accuses the Home Office of "foot dragging" over the issue.

The home secretary apologises to those affected and promises fees for documentation will be waived.

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Speaker John Bercow says that he is satisfied that the request, from Labour's Alison McGovern on the situation in Syria, meets guidelines for an emergency debate.

He tables the debate immediately. It will last until 11pm.

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Labour's Alison McGovern is applying for an emergency debate on the situation in Syria.

MPs applying for emergency debates have up to three minutes to make their case following which MPs are asked to stand to show their support.

If enough do then the Speaker announces when a debate will take place, usually the following day but it is possible for a debate to be held immediately.

Emergency debates last up to three hours.

There have already been eight emergency debates held in the Commons since last year's general election, on subjects including contaminated blood, Yemen and the rollout of Universal Credit.

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The debate, requested by Jeremy Corbyn on Parliament's role in UK armed forces deployment, is approved by John Bercow, and will take place tomorrow, and will last for up to three hours.

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Leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn is making a request for an emergency debate on the government's obligations, under Parliamentary convention, on seeking approval of the House before committing UK armed forces to be deployed overseas.

Mr Corbyn says that the government has agreed to keep Parliament informed and seek approval before deploying armed forces. Mr Corbyn says that MPs of all sides are concerned that no such approval was sought before the airstrikes were performed.

The House also did not get a say on the government's new strategy for Syria, he adds.

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MPs are questioning why there hasn't been a debate in the Commons on Syria airstrikes. Many point out that the government does not need to table its own emergency debate request.

Responding to an answer from Andrea Leadsom, the Speaker, John Bercow, interrupts proceedings briefly to say that he is not causing a stoppage to debates.

He says that the government has control over all debates in Parliament, so could table its own debate in the remaining time of the week.

MPs are discussing two emergency debate requests - which haven't been made yet - but which are expected (one from Labour's Alison McGovern on Syria airstrikes, and there'll be another to follow).