Health Secretary Wes Streeting has admitted that a fateful Labour decision helped Bashar Al-Assad maintain power and go on to kill hundreds of thousands of his own people.
Streeting made the admission on BBC’s Question Time in response to criticism by Piers Morgan of the country’s failure to commit to military intervention in 2013 after the coalition government led by David Cameron sought the support of the House of Commons to do so.
The motion was strongly opposed by Labour, led by Ed Miliband, and Streeting admitted: “With hindsight, I think we can say, looking back on the events of 2013, that the hesitation of this country and the United States created a vacuum that Russia moved into and kept Assad in power for much longer.”
The west had been spurred into taking military action after the Syrian dictator used chemical weapons on his own people, something that US president Barack Obama had previously warned would be a red line that would force him to commit troops.
Prime Minister David Cameron sought the support of the house to partner with the US in taking action against Assad but lost the vote 285-272 after significant opposition from the Labour party led by Ed Miliband.
Speaking at the time, Miliband expressed his desire for the UK to learn from the lessons of intervention in Iraq.
He said: “People are deeply concerned about the chemical weapons attacks in Syria, but they want us to learn the lessons of Iraq.
“They don’t want a rush to war. They want things done in the right way, working with the international community.”
He added: “Britain doesn’t need reckless and impulsive leadership, it needs calm and measured leadership.”
Many believe that action could have removed Assad from power 11 years earlier than the rebels who forced him from Damascus this weekend.
Britain’s failure to act led to impotence amongst western allies, with neither the US or France going through with their intention to take military action.
Instead, supported by Russian airstrikes and Iranian backed fighters, Assad was able to maintain his iron grip on the country which saw thousands locked up without charge and hundreds of thousands killed as a result of action by his forces.
The war led to a refugee crisis across Europe as thousands sought refuge from the country placing significant burden on many countries with an already stressed asylum system.
The influx of refugees escaping war and persecution caused a political reckoning in the years to come, with over a million Syrians arriving in Europe in 2015, causing a migration crisis which saw division domestically and between EU allies.
Russia’s prolonged involvement in Ukraine and Iran’s proxy-conflict with Israel saw the support Assad relied upon drain away. Rebel advances, helped in large part by Turkey, saw the capitulation of the Syrian army in recent weeks culminating in the fall of Damascus, forcing Assad and his family to flee to Moscow.
