A Tory MP today launched a campaign to scrap the convention that Parliament must vote before military action — and revealed she was “horrified” to learn how little intelligence is shared with Members of Parliament.
In an interview with the Evening Standard, former government lawyer Victoria Prentis said senior ministers know “reams of information” that is never disclosed to the Commons for security reasons.
Tonight Ms Prentis will launch a pamphlet from the Society of Conservative Lawyers, which she chairs, calling for an end to the convention created by Tony Blair and Gordon Brown that military action should only be carried out with the pre-approval of Parliament.
A top Whitehall lawyer for 17 years before being elected, Ms Prentis had the highest level of security clearance to handle sensitive cases.
She said: “When I arrived in Parliament I was slightly horrified to find that I would be expected to vote on important decisions without the benefit of the information that I knew was available.”
The campaign is being backed by former solicitor general Sir Oliver Heald, and grandees such as Lord Tyrie, who campaigned for justice in extraordinary rendition cases.
Two Commons votes — the 2002 vote for the invasion of Iraq and the 2013 division that blocked action to protect civilians in Syria — are at the heart of the campaign.
Sir Oliver, who was solicitor general for the Syria vote, believes Mr Blair held the vote in 2002 to “share the load” of the controversy with MPs.
He added: “We are saying that there should be a proper demarcation: that it’s the Government that makes the decision to go to war, and then Parliament should rigorously hold the Government to account.”
