Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 7:15 pm on 18 April 2018.
I do believe, in this situation, that she was correct in the action she took, because it was an alliance of France, the United States and the United Kingdom. It wasn't unilateral action. I think that, if it was unilateral action, it would be a completely separate issue and it would require, in my mind, parliamentary approval. This week, we have had votes in the House of Commons, which the Government has won. In fact, the official opposition walked away from those votes, which is remarkable given the heat that was expressed over the weekend about what the leader of the opposition was going to undertake when Parliament reconvened after Easter.
So, I just go back to the points that I have made: from these benches, we unequivocally support the proportionality and the aims of the airstrike that the UK Government undertook with France and with America. We support the ability of this institution to debate this very important point, and I do—I think it is worth emphasising again—bitterly regret that the First Minister is not here to engage in this debate and explain fully—it was welcome support, in our view—why he was able to give such an unqualified amount of support to the actions, given that senior figures within the Labour Party in Westminster have expressed serious doubts. I do believe that those questions deserve an answer, and this would be the forum to get those answers.