Jeremy Corbyn has said the missile attack by Britain and the USA on Syria is “legally questionable” and will make it less likely the Assad regime will be held accountable for war crimes. The Labour leader criticised Theresa May for “taking instructions from Washington” and said the Prime Minister should have obtained Parliament’s backing before launching the strikes. Speaking after the US, UK and France bombed multiple Syrian government targets in an early morning operation aimed at destroying alleged chemical weapons sites, Mr Corbyn said: "Bombs won't save lives or bring about peace. “This legally questionable action risks escalating further, as US defence secretary James Mattis has admitted, an already devastating conflict and therefore makes real accountability for war crimes and use of chemical weapons less, not more likely.” Mr Corbyn added: “Britain should be playing a leadership role to bring about a ceasefire in the conflict, not taking instructions from Washington and putting British military personnel in harm's way. Bombs won’t save lives or bring about peace. My statement responding to air strikes on Syria: https://t.co/R6Yqkk4MV3— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) April 14, 2018 "Theresa May should have sought parliamentary approval, not trailed after Donald Trump. The Government should do whatever possible to push Russia and the United States to agree to an independent UN-led investigation of last weekend's horrific chemical weapons attack so that those responsible can be held to account." Stewart McDonald, the Scottish National Party spokesman for defence, said UK forces had been engaged in "gesture bombing with no major international consensus". "Most worrying is that she has acted at the behest of presidential tweets and sidelined Parliament," he said on Twitter. "What does this new bombing campaign do to help move Syria towards peace? Nothing. "Instead, it has the potential to dangerously complicate the war, making matters on the ground worse for the people that the strikes are supposed to help. There is no peace strategy." Intervention in Syria | Read more Owen Smith, the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, also attacked the decision, writing on Twitter: "The House of Commons is elected to represent the people of our country and to hold our Executive to account. "Parliament should have been recalled and consulted before we engaged in this military action in Syria." But Carwyn Jones, Labour's First Minister of Wales, backed the action, as long as it was part of a wider plan to bring peace to the region. Mr Jones said: "I spoke with the PM late last night about the action in Syria. I offered my support to any intervention that could prevent a further atrocity, but it is vital that any action forms part of a wider long-term plan for the region. "I have urged the Prime Minister to do all she can to avoid civilian casualties given the complicated picture on the ground in Syria, and she has given me assurances in that regard. "Our thoughts today are with our service personnel and the people of Syria, who have endured beyond all measure." At a Pentagon briefing shortly after President Trump announced strikes had taken place, Gen Joseph Dunford said a scientific research facility in Damascus, allegedly connected to the production of chemical and biological weapons, had been hit, along with a chemical weapons storage facility west of Homs and a chemical weapons equipment storage site and command post, also near Homs. Syrian state television said government forces had shot down more than a dozen missiles, and claimed only the research facility in Damascus had been damaged. It said three civilians had been injured in Homs.
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