First of all, I want to say how glad I am that we are debating the strikes on Syria here in this Chamber. It seems really important to me that we are here at the heart of Welsh democracy and that we should be discussing this very important issue. The issues of war and peace are clearly not devolved, as the leader of the house made clear earlier in the day. Those decisions are made, clearly, in Westminster. However, I do believe that the people of Wales want to see us debating these issues of huge importance here in this Chamber. They want to hear what we think. And, of course, we have Syrians living here with us in Wales, and it is so important, I think, that we do give our views here.

I want to reiterate the point about these attacks taking place without a single vote being cast in Parliament. The Cabinet was called together. Why wasn't Parliament called? Parliament could easily have been summoned, and it makes you feel that Parliament was deliberately not summoned; that the timing was such that Parliament was ignored. Because there has been a convention built up of the Government in Westminster consulting Parliament on matters of war and peace. This happened when I was in the House of Commons and there was a debate and vote on the Iraq war in 2003, and that is one of the most significant votes that I've ever taken part in. The vote resulted in support for the the Labour Government of the day's position, although many people did regret how they cast their vote later on. But at least there was a debate, and I'm sure many of you know what is written on Robin Cook's gravestone:

'I may not have succeeded in halting the war, but I did secure the right of Parliament to decide on war'.

But as it turns out, there was no debate now. That right was not firmly decided on. But since then, there have been a number of occasions when Parliament has been recalled, and 2013 has already been referred to today.

After the airstrikes took place last week, on Saturday, I went to the Aneurin Bevan statue in the centre of Cardiff where there were many people who went there feeling a bit in despair and concern about what had happened, and lots of people gave their views about what they felt about the airstrikes. A variety of views came out, and one of the main reasons was the fear of escalation—the fear that this would lead to something more. Another concern was about the unpredictability of Trump, and the fact that we were there in this action with Trump, and his great concern about his habit of making policy by tweets. I was quite shocked today—we've talked today about the humanitarian help that is given by different countries—to read that, since last November, only 11 Syrian refugees have been admitted to the United States, and in the last six months only 44. That compares to 6,000 in the same period a year ago. So, where are the humanitarian feelings there from Trump in terms of not taking anybody in, but he's taken part in this action.

Today, lots of people have mentioned the Syrian refugees coming to Wales. Certainly in terms of the UK Government's action, I feel that we could have taken many, many more Syrian refugees, and I also think it's a huge matter of shame about the lack of action over unaccompanied refugee children after the Dubs amendment was passed—that we have sadly let down all those unaccompanied refugee children.

So, the fear of escalation, I think, is one of the major concerns about this action, and I think it's important to note what the United Nations Secretary-General said, because, of course, he said the use of chemical weapons is absolutely abhorrent and horrendous. I know we all absolutely agree with that. But he said,

'I urge all member states to show restraint in these dangerous circumstances, and to avoid any acts that could escalate the situation and worsen the sufferings of the Syrian people'.

I don't think there can ever be a military solution to this problem. A diplomatic solution is difficult, and we know that it has been tried, and it is very, very difficult, but we must continue to pursue a diplomatic situation, however difficult that must be. This is such a complex situation that airstrikes by themselves, bombing in this way, will never result in peace.