Jeremy Corbyn repeats refusal to give Labour MPs free vote on Syria air strikes

Labour leader will enforce the party whip if and when David Cameron brings forward a motion for bombing Isis in Syria

Jeremy Corbyn is a long-standing opponent to military intervention (PA)

Jeremy Corbyn has repeated his refusal to give Labour MPs a free vote on extending British air strikes in Syria.

He has been urged by moderates in the party to allow Labour MPs to vote how they wish given the "divergence of opinion" on the decision.

David Cameron indicated on Tuesday that he will seek Parliamentary approval to bomb Isis targets in Syria, but Mr Corbyn's long-standing opposition to military intervention represents a significant stumbling block for the Government's plans.

Mr Corbyn has made it clear that he would oppose any action in Syria without the backing of the United Nations Security Council, but Mr Cameron said he would be prepared to defy the UN in order to press ahead with the air strikes.

Mr Corbyn has insisted he will make a decision on whether to back air strikes once the Government has put forward plans, but it is unlikely the life-long anti-war campaigner will come out in favour.

Asked whether he had rethought his decision to enforce the party whip on air strikes, Mr Corbyn told the BBC: "No, we would have to consider it as a party, consider it as a group and decide how we would react at that point."

He added: "The [Labour] party conference resolution was a requirement that [air strikes in Syria] had to be within international law and therefore that would require the United Nations to be involved."

Mr Cameron told MPs it was “always preferable” to seek approval by the UN but insisted the UK could not "outsource to Russian veto the decisions that we need to keep our country safe".

Mr Corbyn said: "The priority has to be looking to a political settlement and the Vienna talks last weekend were promising - long way to go, we have to be very cautious, but the idea that we can get a political settlement which would involve all groups and countries with the exception of Isil, leads to their isolation.

"Whether that's part of a wider strategy remains to be seen."

His decision to rule out a free vote on air strikes was criticised by former front bencher Emma Reynolds, who said the leadership should allow Labour MPs to vote how they like "given the divergence of views that there are".

The Government will only go ahead with a vote in the House of Commons if he is confident of winning.

Ministers will set out the plans to bomb Isis in Syria by the end of the month, meaning MPs could authorise air strikes before Christmas.

He and other ministers have described as "absurd" the current situation where Britain is carrying out airstrikes on Isis in Iraq but not over the border in Syria.

Mr Cameron promised to set out a "comprehensive strategey" for defeating Isis and said the case for military intervention in Syria had "only grown stronger" since Islamic terrorists killed 129 people in the devestating terror attacks in Paris on Friday.