TWO Bolton MPs opposed and one supported the ultimately successful Parliamentary motion approving Britain's bombing of Islamic State militants in Syria.

Just hours after the favourable 397-223 outcome in the House of Commons sorties were flown by the RAF based in Cyprus to target Daesh extremists who hold part of Syria and part of Iraq.

Labour MP for Bolton South East, Yasmin Qureshi, was the only local MP who spoke during the mammoth 10-hour debate.

She told MPs: "Every single person agrees that extension of the airstrikes into Syria alone will not achieve anything without a massive boots on the ground presence.

"Then there is the challenge of how to hold the territory that has been taken.

"Unless and until the Prime Minister says that we are going to get those boots on the ground, whether from surrounding Arab countries or the international community, we are not being really serious about containing and destroying Daesh."

 

She later tweeted: "Pleased to have had an opportunity to dismantle the Government's weak misleading case for air strikes in #SyriaVote."

Ms Qureshi, a member of the foreign affairs committee who recently went on a fact-finding mission to the Middle East to learn more about the situation, told The Bolton News afterwards: "The Prime Minister seems to be saying we have to stand with international community.

"I just see it as gesture politics. I don't agree with this symbolic politicking.

"I don't have any problem with taking military action but just bombing is waste of time. It just destroys buildings and innocent lives and we need ground forces."

David Crausby, who represents Bolton North East, was one of 153 Labour MPs along with seven rebel Conservatives who decided not to back air strikes.

He said: "I don't think there's a comprehensive plan - it's not thought out.

"Just to bomb Syria without any kind of exit strategy is not the way to do it.

"There's no shortage of bombs but there's a shortage of targets and what's needed is more involvement on the ground, such as intelligence-gathering, to make sure when you bomb or send in a missile you actually have the right target.

"There's quite a strong view that we need to deal with these people in Syria and ISIS must be resolved and I completely agree.

"But I think that it must be done properly and that might even be more unpopular."

Conservative MP for Bolton West, Chris Green, voted with the Government for the motion.

He said: "There is a very real terrorist threat that we face from ISIL and our security services have prevented numerous planned terrorist attacks against us.

"The slaughter on the streets of Paris was one of those rare instances that security services failed and ISIL have the same intention to deliver death on the streets of Britain. 

“It was for this reason that I, and an overwhelming majority of MPs, not only voted to extend the ongoing British operations against ISIL in Iraq to include ISIL in Syria, but also to work for a comprehensive solution that is mandated by the UN Security Council resolution."