No's 285 vs 272 ayes
The shock defeat of the Government's proposal to approve the idea of military action against Syria was covered extensively in last evening's 'Newsnight' on BBC2. The bearded Paxman seemed genuinely surprised, as were his guests, by the defeat and it was suggested that some Labour MPs had stayed away which meant that an unknown number of tories had voted against the Government. The Blair legacy with regard to Iraq was discussed and the outcome of the vote was seen as an indication of the mistrust that MPs (and most of the country) have for government propaganda with regard to 'foreign adventures'.
Under questioning from Milliband, Cameron stated clearly that he would not use 'Royal Prerogative' to circumvent the wishes of Parliament with regard to military action against Syria.
A White House later statement said, "President Obama's decision-making will be guided by what is in the best interests of the United States." Presumably this would mean that Syria should expect the cruise missiles any time.
I just hope that the Joint Chiefs didn't send any of our boys in 'under the wire' to blow up major items of infrastructure. It would be embarrassing if anyone was caught when the Government had been instructed by Parliament to leave well alone..........for the present at least.