ISIS could 'kill 10,000 in Trafalgar Square next week'
Nov 25, 2015 15:05:45 GMT -5
Post by schwartzie on Nov 25, 2015 15:05:45 GMT -5
ISIS could 'kill 10,000 in Trafalgar Square next week' says defence boss in airstrike call
Nick Gutteridge
Tory MP James Gray, left, and crowds at Trafalgar Square, rightSky/Getty/PA
ISIS could carry out a huge atrocity in Britain, a defence chief has warned
In a dire prediction Tory MP James Gray said Islamist fanatics could carry out a mass atrocity on Britain's streets if the global campaign to eliminate the hate group fails.
The respected MP, who sits on the influential Commons Defence Select Committee, said ISIS is "pure evil" and savaged Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for suggesting that Britain should negotiate with the terrorists instead of bombing them.
Related articles
Calling on MPs from all parties to back David Cameron's bid to join allied airstrikes against the jihadis in Syria, the senior backbencher warned they could be plotting another atrocity on an even more barbaric scale than the Paris massacre.
He said: "I think most reasonable people are now clear that you can't negotiate with ISIS.
"They are wicked people, they are determined to destroy our way of life. It was 130 people in Paris last week, it could be 10,000 people in Trafalgar Square next week unless we do something about it."
David Cameron has put his case for airstrikes against ISIS in Syria
The RAF is already waging a bombing campaign against the jihadis in Iraq, but has so far held back from pursuing them across the "porous" border with neighbouring Syria.
Outlining the argument for extending those airstrikes in the Commons today the Prime Minister said that ISIS "is not some remote problem thousands of miles away", adding: "It is a direct threat to our security at home and abroad."
He told MPs to go away over the weekend and consider voting in favour of increased military action, hinting that the poll could take place as early as Monday.
It was 130 people in Paris last week, it could be 10,000 people in Trafalgar Square next week
Tory MP James Gray
The last time Mr Cameron went to the Commons over airstrikes in the war torn country - that time against dictator Bashar al-Assad - he suffered a humiliating defeat after 31 Tories rebelled.
But Mr Gray said he expects the new proposals to be passed in the wake of the terror attacks in Paris, this time because Labour MPs are expected to turn against Jeremy Corbyn en masse.
The hardline pacifist has ordered his MPs to vote against more airstrikes and was widely mocked for suggesting that the Government should be negotiating with ISIS leaders instead.
Flowers at the scene of La Carillon bar in ParisGETTY
The Tory MP said the Paris terror attacks demonstrated the need for more airstrikes
And Labour's Phil Wilson, who also sits on the Defence Select Committee, said he was prepared to defy his leader and vote for more airstrikes.
He said: "We've got to destroy ISIS. What happened in Paris can happen in London. We've got to be on the side of our allies and we've got to do what's right and it's a very difficult issue.
"Nobody likes sending our people into action in a foreign country but this is an issue not just for party this is an issue for the country as well and we've got to stand by the country."
Mr Gray said several other moderate Labour MPs have confirmed to him that they will also vote for further action, adding: "Two things have made a difference. One is Paris and the awfulness of these people has now been brought home to every citizen, everywhere, they are now saying these people are pure evil and they must be destroyed.
"The second thing that's made a difference is the UN resolution last Friday so that we now have Russia, China US and France all taking part in operations in Syria and the only people so far who are not doing so are us.
"I think we will see a swing towards taking action in Syria particularly in the Labour party.
"The arithmetic now is pretty strongly in favour of agreeing with the Prime Minister that we must now attack Daesh [another name for ISIS] wherever they are whether that's Iraq, whether that's Syria, it may even be somewhere else because they are active also in Libya and elsewhere.
"They're the worst enemy we've had for a generation and we must now take real action to deal with them."
Speaking to Sky News, the Wiltshire North MP also rejected suggestions that Britain's contribution to the aerial campaign in Syria would have little positive impact.
He said: "We're one of the greatest powers in the world. Our RAF Tornados are simply brilliant, they're second to none and so are our Reaper drones.
"They're doing a brilliant job in tracking ISIS people and taking them out when they have to do so, so we've got a very serious contribution to make.
"The border between Iraq and Syria is an invisible line in the desert and Daesh go backwards and forwards across that at will and they go back to their headquarters in Raqqa.
"It's absolutely right that we must be ready to play our part in taking Raqqa out.
"We've got to strike the head of the snake in Raqqa and other heads of the snake elsewhere in Syria too, and sitting in Iraq and leaving it all to the French and the Russians and the Chinese and the Americans to do our job for us is just not the way that we Brits do things.
"This is an enemy that's a real evil. We now have to do our part in taking them out, sorting them out and then sorting out the peace in Syria."
link
Nick Gutteridge
Tory MP James Gray, left, and crowds at Trafalgar Square, rightSky/Getty/PA
ISIS could carry out a huge atrocity in Britain, a defence chief has warned
In a dire prediction Tory MP James Gray said Islamist fanatics could carry out a mass atrocity on Britain's streets if the global campaign to eliminate the hate group fails.
The respected MP, who sits on the influential Commons Defence Select Committee, said ISIS is "pure evil" and savaged Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for suggesting that Britain should negotiate with the terrorists instead of bombing them.
Related articles
Calling on MPs from all parties to back David Cameron's bid to join allied airstrikes against the jihadis in Syria, the senior backbencher warned they could be plotting another atrocity on an even more barbaric scale than the Paris massacre.
He said: "I think most reasonable people are now clear that you can't negotiate with ISIS.
"They are wicked people, they are determined to destroy our way of life. It was 130 people in Paris last week, it could be 10,000 people in Trafalgar Square next week unless we do something about it."
David Cameron has put his case for airstrikes against ISIS in Syria
The RAF is already waging a bombing campaign against the jihadis in Iraq, but has so far held back from pursuing them across the "porous" border with neighbouring Syria.
Outlining the argument for extending those airstrikes in the Commons today the Prime Minister said that ISIS "is not some remote problem thousands of miles away", adding: "It is a direct threat to our security at home and abroad."
He told MPs to go away over the weekend and consider voting in favour of increased military action, hinting that the poll could take place as early as Monday.
It was 130 people in Paris last week, it could be 10,000 people in Trafalgar Square next week
Tory MP James Gray
The last time Mr Cameron went to the Commons over airstrikes in the war torn country - that time against dictator Bashar al-Assad - he suffered a humiliating defeat after 31 Tories rebelled.
But Mr Gray said he expects the new proposals to be passed in the wake of the terror attacks in Paris, this time because Labour MPs are expected to turn against Jeremy Corbyn en masse.
The hardline pacifist has ordered his MPs to vote against more airstrikes and was widely mocked for suggesting that the Government should be negotiating with ISIS leaders instead.
Flowers at the scene of La Carillon bar in ParisGETTY
The Tory MP said the Paris terror attacks demonstrated the need for more airstrikes
And Labour's Phil Wilson, who also sits on the Defence Select Committee, said he was prepared to defy his leader and vote for more airstrikes.
He said: "We've got to destroy ISIS. What happened in Paris can happen in London. We've got to be on the side of our allies and we've got to do what's right and it's a very difficult issue.
"Nobody likes sending our people into action in a foreign country but this is an issue not just for party this is an issue for the country as well and we've got to stand by the country."
Mr Gray said several other moderate Labour MPs have confirmed to him that they will also vote for further action, adding: "Two things have made a difference. One is Paris and the awfulness of these people has now been brought home to every citizen, everywhere, they are now saying these people are pure evil and they must be destroyed.
"The second thing that's made a difference is the UN resolution last Friday so that we now have Russia, China US and France all taking part in operations in Syria and the only people so far who are not doing so are us.
"I think we will see a swing towards taking action in Syria particularly in the Labour party.
"The arithmetic now is pretty strongly in favour of agreeing with the Prime Minister that we must now attack Daesh [another name for ISIS] wherever they are whether that's Iraq, whether that's Syria, it may even be somewhere else because they are active also in Libya and elsewhere.
"They're the worst enemy we've had for a generation and we must now take real action to deal with them."
Speaking to Sky News, the Wiltshire North MP also rejected suggestions that Britain's contribution to the aerial campaign in Syria would have little positive impact.
He said: "We're one of the greatest powers in the world. Our RAF Tornados are simply brilliant, they're second to none and so are our Reaper drones.
"They're doing a brilliant job in tracking ISIS people and taking them out when they have to do so, so we've got a very serious contribution to make.
"The border between Iraq and Syria is an invisible line in the desert and Daesh go backwards and forwards across that at will and they go back to their headquarters in Raqqa.
"It's absolutely right that we must be ready to play our part in taking Raqqa out.
"We've got to strike the head of the snake in Raqqa and other heads of the snake elsewhere in Syria too, and sitting in Iraq and leaving it all to the French and the Russians and the Chinese and the Americans to do our job for us is just not the way that we Brits do things.
"This is an enemy that's a real evil. We now have to do our part in taking them out, sorting them out and then sorting out the peace in Syria."
link
