Britain’s parliament could be recalled as early as Friday to vote on a proposal by Prime Minister David Cameron for the country to join US-led air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
The decision to strike in Iraq would be at Baghdad’s request. Cameron is due to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly later on Wednesday.
Sources in Cameron’s office expect the Iraqi leader to request British air strikes against IS during the meeting and for Cameron to agree, paving the way for a parliamentary recall.
When asked to comment, Cameron’s office said on Wednesday morning that there were no plans to recall parliament, which is in recess.
Cameron has not yet decided whether Britain would take part in strikes against IS targets in Syria because of legal issues. The opposition Labour party is sceptical of the idea but broadly supportive of strikes against IS in Iraq.
The British leader lost a parliamentary vote last year to approve air strikes against Syrian government targets to punish Damascus for its alleged use of chemical weapons. Cameron has tried to make sure that he has cross-party agreement on any strikes against IS.
Labour leader Ed Miliband suggested on Wednesday that his left-leaning party would be likely to back Cameron on Iraq.
“ISIL (IS) is a threat that can’t be ignored. We’ve got to assemble not just a military coalition but a political and diplomatic one,” he told BBC radio.
“If a proposition comes forward for military action by the United Kingdom we’re open to it and we’ll look at it.”
