Syria Air Strikes: MPs authorise UK action against Islamic State

                               

MPs have voted by 397 to 223 to authorise UK air strikes against so-called Islamic State in Syria.

Prime Minister David Cameron argued in a Commons debate that action against the "medieval monsters" of IS was legal and would "keep our country safe".

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the case for war "does not stack up" - but his party was split, with senior Labour figures voting with the government after the 10-hour debate.

RAF bombing raids could begin soon.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has said UK planes would be deployed "very quickly", potentially as early as Thursday.

Shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn was roundly applauded by MPs from across the House, particularly on the Conservative benches, when he urged his own side to "confront this evil" posed by Islamic State, who he said "held our democracy in contempt".

In an impassioned speech, he said the international community was "faced by fascists and what we know about fascists is that they must be defeated".