SYRIA

Intro: Action that has never received Parliament’s approval. Ministers accused of ‘deceiving the public’

An RAF Tornado at the end of one of its missions. Aircraft which shortly could be used against Islamic State targets in Syria.

British pilots will continue to fly U.S. fighter jets to bomb Islamic State targets in Syria despite not having the approval of Parliament.

Ministers have been accused of ‘deceiving the public’ after it has emerged that at least three Royal Navy pilots have been targeting and killing IS fighters in the war-torn country. MPs voted against military action there in September 2013.

The Government insists it ‘had always known a handful of UK military personnel were involved in air strikes’ against jihadists in Syria, but this was acceptable because they were embedded with the U.S. military.

The Defence Secretary, Michael Fallon, says this is standard practice, and ISIL (Islamic State in the Levant) has to be defeated. Admitting that we don’t have parliamentary authority at the moment to carry out air strikes in Syria, he refers to the fact that the Americans do and that they have been doing that to ‘keep us all safe’.

On the question as to whether British pilots would continue their role, Mr Fallon said: ‘Exchanges between allies are absolutely routine – there aren’t a huge number of them, but they help, of course, with interoperability with our key allies.’

Mr Fallon said he would not seek approval of Parliament because this was different from British fighter jets conducting air strikes.

He added that when – not if – British military strikes began in Syria, he would seek approval.

David Cameron was also aware that RAF pilots were taking part in bombing sorties over Syria, but did not tell Parliament. Political opponents have accused the Prime Minister of withholding vital information and called for him to make a statement to the House of Commons.

Some have warned that the missions will lead to ‘mission creep’ and perceive that our involvement will lead to a greater involvement with added pressure for ground troops.

MPs specifically voted against military action in 2013 and air strikes there remain a controversial issue. British fighter jets are dropping heavy payloads on IS militants in Iraq, but they are only allowed to fly spy planes over Syria. The RAF’s sentinel aircraft has been performing that function. But the issue of RAF pilots being used in air strikes without the requisite parliamentary approval could be seen as being a breach of trust with the British people.

The U.S. has been conducting bombing raids over Syria since last September. It deployed its aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson shortly afterwards, along with a squadron of Super Hornet fighter jets. It has now emerged that at least three British fighter pilots were flying the aircraft.

Wearing US overalls but with British badges and insignia, they would have been flying over Syria from last October until Spring, when the carrier returned to the United States.