Syria air strikes: No Reyaad Khan inquest, minister says

There will be no inquest into the death of a Cardiff jihadist killed by the RAF in Syria, a UK minister has said.

Reyaad Khan, 21, died in August in the first targeted UK drone attack on a British citizen.

Welsh Labour MP Kevin Brennan said there was a "question mark" over the killing's legality, raising questions over whether an inquest was needed.

But junior defence minister Penny Mordaunt said there would be no inquest or coroner's inquiry.

During a Westminster Hall debate on the use of armed drones and the rules of engagement, Mr Brennan acknowledged that Islamic State militants presented a direct threat to the security of the UK.

But he said there were "extremely difficult and concerning questions of ethics and legality" with the UK government using a remote drone to kill a UK citizen in a country with which technically it was not at war.

"I'm not naive enough either to believe that the justification used by the government and cited by the prime minister in the Chamber of the House of Commons tells us the full story about what legal advice has been given to the government, and what the justification of the targeting of Reyaad Khan and others has been," Mr Brennan said.

He said he believed the Ministry of Defence had what amounted to a "pre-authorisation" list of UK citizens who could be targeted if they became available.

Ms Mordaunt said that when there was "no alternative" and an "imminent threat" the UK could "prevent and disrupt", then strikes were the "right thing to do".

She said the case was outside the jurisdiction of a coroner.

"Either an inquest or a coroner's inquiry, that is not what will be happening," the minister said.

The rules of engagement would not be made public because that would give opponents an advantage, she added.