I’m pleased to participate in this important debate and I’m grateful for the opportunity to state my dissatisfaction with the decision taken by Theresa May, taken without consultation with Members of Parliament in Westminster.

May I pay tribute, first of all, to the powerful leadership of Leanne Wood in this debate and also congratulate Mike Hedges and Julie Morgan on their wonderful contributions this afternoon? As many have already said, it’s a very complex situation in Syria. We’ve all seen the appalling images of suffering in the country and this latest suffering is piled upon years of cruel war in Syria.

In my spare time, I’m a trustee of a charity called Christian Rebuild, which funds and supports humanitarian efforts through churches in Syria and other counties in the middle east. Heroic work is done by a number of organisations under heartbreaking conditions in that country, with suffering wherever one looks. It is endless and churches are working heroically to alleviate the suffering by providing services on the ground.

Very often, this Parliament is described as a talking shop, holding numerous debates—like every other Parliament, obviously—but in Westminster they didn’t have an opportunity to be a talking shop last week, as Theresa May took the decision to bomb Syrian targets without discussing it with the Members of Parliament in Westminster. And that is one of the main points of this debate this afternoon, as well as the intervention of our First Minister in that decision—or his lack of intervention, perhaps—because it is a complex situation on the ground in Syria, just like the complex situation in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia is promoting destruction there, without any criticism from Westminster.

To conclude, we do need to pause and think of a long-term future for Syria, as others have said, using diplomatic means. Thank you.