Jeremy Corbyn accuses David Cameron of ‘bulldozing’ MPs into bombing Syria

Mr Gethins, the MP for North East Fife, said: “This is a powerful signal to David Cameron and his government the case for bombing Syria has not been made”.

Corbyn’s response to the proposed air strikes is not a surprise as he is only acting in accordance with his long held principles which were the reason he was voted leader in the first place.

After a meeting of Labour’s shadow cabinet on Monday afternoon to discuss the party’s position on air strikes, it was announced that Labour MPs would be given a free vote.

British airstrikes against IS targets have been limited to those in Iraq, and members of the Parliament (MPs) are still debating on whether to extend the military action to Syria.

Labour deputy leader Tom Watson has appealed to David Cameron for “more clarity” on his strategy for tackling Islamic State (IS) ahead of Wednesday’s crucial vote on extending air strikes into Syria.

By allowing the so-called “free vote” – breaking with a tradition for party leaders to instruct lawmakers on how to vote on major decisions, Corbyn has moved to quell a rebellion in Labour, which had threatened to engulf his two-month leadership.

French President François Hollande’s campaign to combat Islamic State militants in Syria gained momentum Tuesday when the German and British cabinets backed plans to join the global coalition.

But he added: “The vast majority of party members are opposed to war in Syria, the majority of Labour MPs are opposed to war in Syria”.

The prime minister stressed that military action would be part of “a broader strategy” that included political, diplomatic and humanitarian efforts.

One of Corbyn’s closest allies in the shadow cabinet, Diane Abbott, said “the party as a whole” was opposed to bombing and “looking to Jeremy to show leadership”.

“I’m doing my job as the shadow foreign secretary to the best of my ability and I will argue my case from the despatch box tomorrow in a serious way, as Jeremy Corbyn will do when he opens the debate”.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said he was now “confident” that most MPs would support air strikes when there was a vote.

“It seems to me we’re stepping into something potentially rather unsafe and unknown but also when you bomb in Raqqa or anywhere else, any other place, you kill people”.

He said: “It is in the national interest, it is the right thing to do, we will be acting with our allies, we will be careful and responsible as we do so, but in my view it s the right thing to do this to keep our country safe”.

Newbury MP Richard Benyon has spoken in support of the United Kingdom starting air strikes in Syria, as parliament is set to debate whether to back military intervention against terrorist group Isis.