Great Britain’s parliament wins veto over move to arm Syrian rebels

Britain’s parliament backed a motion on Thursday, July 11 requiring Prime Minister David Cameron to give it a veto over any future move to arm Syrian rebels, in a symbolic vote the government said it would heed.

Britain says it has not yet taken any decision to arm rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad, but its role in helping to lift a European Union arms embargo on Syria in May fuelled speculation it was planning to do just that.

The lower house of parliament voted by 114-1 to back a motion requiring the government to seek its “explicit prior consent” for any future decision to provide lethal assistance.