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| Clegg blames 'cynical' Miliband for blocking British intervention in Syria | Clegg blames 'cynical' Miliband for blocking British intervention in Syria |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Nick Clegg has blamed Ed Miliband's "cynical partisanship" for blocking British military action in Syria, saying there is no chance of another vote on the issue under any circumstances. | |
| The deputy prime minister said the government could not go back to parliament on the same question after Labour and backbench coalition MPs rejected the plan for an intervention last week. | The deputy prime minister said the government could not go back to parliament on the same question after Labour and backbench coalition MPs rejected the plan for an intervention last week. |
| Speaking at a nursery in Hammersmith, Clegg made clear his personal disappointment and strongly criticised Labour's "political point-scoring" for scuppering any prospect of British involvement in strikes against the regime of Bashar al-Assad. | |
| There are growing calls for the coalition to consider holding a second vote on military action, despite the humiliating defeat for David Cameron on Thursday. Sir Malcolm Rifkind, chairman of the Commons intelligence and security committee and a former foreign secretary, led the push for a second vote, as the US said it had evidence that sarin gas was used. | There are growing calls for the coalition to consider holding a second vote on military action, despite the humiliating defeat for David Cameron on Thursday. Sir Malcolm Rifkind, chairman of the Commons intelligence and security committee and a former foreign secretary, led the push for a second vote, as the US said it had evidence that sarin gas was used. |
| However, Clegg slapped down this idea, saying parliament was "very clear" it did not want military action. "I cannot foresee any circumstances in which we would go back to parliament again on the same question and the same issue," he said. "We can't go back asking the same question over and over. So no, I can't foresee such circumstances." | However, Clegg slapped down this idea, saying parliament was "very clear" it did not want military action. "I cannot foresee any circumstances in which we would go back to parliament again on the same question and the same issue," he said. "We can't go back asking the same question over and over. So no, I can't foresee such circumstances." |
| Despite saying the coalition would respect parliament's wishes, the Liberal Democrat leader called into question Miliband's motives for rejecting the coalition's plan. He said no one could begrudge Labour "wrestling" with the issue but the party had not behaved in way befitting the gravity of the situation. | |
| "My own view is that the Labour party seemed to take this as an opportunity for party political point-scoring," he said. | "My own view is that the Labour party seemed to take this as an opportunity for party political point-scoring," he said. |
| On Sunday William Hague and George Osborne said parliament had spoken and Britain would offer only diplomatic support to its allies. | |
| In his first major interview since the government's defeat in the Commons, Hague said he could only envisage a change in UK policy if Labour became "less partisan". His remarks were echoed by the chancellor, who told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show that Miliband looked less like a future prime minister after helping to defeat the government. | In his first major interview since the government's defeat in the Commons, Hague said he could only envisage a change in UK policy if Labour became "less partisan". His remarks were echoed by the chancellor, who told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show that Miliband looked less like a future prime minister after helping to defeat the government. |
| The foreign secretary told the Murnaghan Show on Sky News: "Parliament has spoken. I don't think it is realistic to think that we can go back to parliament every week with the same question having received no for an answer." | The foreign secretary told the Murnaghan Show on Sky News: "Parliament has spoken. I don't think it is realistic to think that we can go back to parliament every week with the same question having received no for an answer." |