After President Obama announced air strikes against Isis and humanitarian aid drops to the Yazidis, British ministers have been clarifying the extent of their involvement in the response to the latest violence. Michael Fallon said this lunchtime that the UK government’s focus was on the humanitarian effort:
‘We welcome what the Americans are doing now to, in particular, to bring humanitarian relief, and to prevent any further suffering. But our focus is on assisting that humanitarian mission and using our military in support of the Americans in terms of refuelling and surveillance to underpin their missing and to add to it with food drops of our own.
‘Our focus is on assisting the Americans in this humanitarian effort, that’s what I reviewed with the Prime Minister this morning, that is what he asked us to take decisions on at the emergency meeting this morning, and that is what we are now offering in terms of specific support to the Americans.’
But there will be questions from MPs – whether they are generally in favour of intervention or not – about the full extent of the UK’s involvement in this latest action.
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