Ed Miliband does not regret voting against the UK taking military action in Syria in 2013, he has told Sky News.
His comments to Sky’s breakfast presenter Anna Jones come following the collapse of the Bashar al Assad regime in the region.
Back in 2013, when Mr Miliband was Labour leader, UK MPs voted against taking military action in Syria in the wake of Assad using chemical weapons against his own people.
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MPs in 2013 were given a free vote – with no party line imposed – but Mr Miliband was a vocal opponent of the action, claiming the plans were “ill-thought out” and would make things worse.
The Commons voted against taking action.
Mr Miliband was asked by Sky News presenter Jones if he regretted his position in the vote today.
He said: “No, I don’t.”
The energy secretary added he welcomed the fall of Assad.
He added: “Back in 2013, we were confronted with whether we should have a one-off – or potential one-off – bombing of Syria.
“But there was no plan for what this British involvement would mean.
“Where it would lead, and what the consequences would be.
“And I believe that in the light of the Iraq War, we could never send British troops back into combat unless we were absolutely clear about what our plan was, including what an exit strategy was.
“Now, to those people who say that President Assad would have fallen if we bombed him in 2013, that’s obviously wrong, because President Trump bombed President Assad in 2017 and 2018, so he didn’t fall.
“So I welcome the fall of a brutal dictator.
“But I think the view that some people seem to be expressing about history is just wrong.”
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Some have argued inaction in 2013 gave confidence to dictators like Assad – and even Vladimir Putin – to take military action against other nations.
Asked about this, Mr Miliband again disagreed, saying: “I think it’s very easy for people to say that the answer to the problems of the world is British military intervention.”
Mr Miliband added: “I took the decisions I did because the British involvement in Iraq led to the deaths of our troops and was rightly, in my view, seen as a very serious error.
“And so without re-going over all of that history, I think we drew the right lessons from there.”
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