Portsmouth MP opposes calls to give Parliament more military intervention power

Penny Mordaunt, Portsmouth North MP and International Development Secretary.

The Portsmouth North MP spoke to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme following air strikes in Syria.

As previously reported, prime minister Theresa May will be speaking in parliament this afternoon to address MPs about the bombings.

Ms Mordaunt told BBC Radio 4: ‘To take a decision on whether something is legally justified, and whether what we are actually intending on doing in terms of targets is appropriate, you would need to know information that could not be shared with every MP.

‘And so, outsourcing that decision to people who do not have the full picture is, I think, quite wrong.

‘And, the convention that was established, I think is very wrong.

‘I support governments being able to take those decisions, Parliament should hold government to account for that decision.’

Ms Mordaunt said she opposed the idea of giving MPs more control as put forward by then Tory foreign secretary William Hague in 2011, saying: ‘I think that is wrong.’

The Cabinet minister said the intervention in Syria was a “very limited” action to deter the use of chemical weapons.