Ex-Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey calls for Britain to ‘crush’ Isis in Syria

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Former Archbishop of Canterbury called for Britain to 'crush' ISIS in Syria
Lord Carey backed calls for military intervention to create 'safe enclaves'
He said: 'There must be renewed military and diplomatic efforts to crush IS'
David Cameron facing growing pressure to extend RAF air strikes in Syria

Published: 03:10 EST, 6 September 2015 | Updated: 15:00 EST, 6 September 2015

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Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey (above) has called on David Cameron for a renewed military effort to 'crush' Islamic State in Syria

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey has called on Britain to 'crush' ISIS in Syria in a bid to end the ongoing refugee crisis.

The retired bishop, who was head of the Church of England from 1991 to 2002, has backed calls for British military intervention to help create 'safe enclaves' within the war-torn country.

His comments echoed the growing impatience among some Conservative backbenchers with former defence secretary Liam Fox saying 'handwringing' about the plight of the refugees is not enough and action is needed to deal with the 'root of the problem'.

David Cameron is now facing growing pressure to extend RAF air strikes into Syria as the worsening conflict threatens to drive increasing numbers of desperate refugees to seek sanctuary in Europe.

Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, Lord Carey said today: 'I do not consider it enough to send aid to refugee camps in the Middle East.

'Rather, there must be renewed military and diplomatic efforts to crush the twin menaces of Islamic State and al-Qaeda once and for all.

'Make no mistake: this may mean air strikes and other British military assistance to create secure and safe enclaves.'

His intervention came after Chancellor George Osborne acknowledged that a comprehensive plan was needed to tackle the refugee crisis 'at source'.

Speaking to reporters at a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Turkey yesterday, he said that meant dealing with the 'evil' regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad as well as the militant jihadists of ISIS.

Nevertheless, Mr Cameron remains wary of staging another Commons vote on military action in Syria after his damaging defeat two years ago unless he can be sure of winning.

The Prime Minister reaffirmed in Madrid on Friday that he would only order British bombers into action in Syria if there was a parliamentary consensus behind airstrikes.

With the prospect of left-winger Jeremy Corbyn emerging victorious in the Labour leadership contest, that would appear to be increasingly remote.

The weekend opinion polls offered conflicting evidence of the public support for military intervention in Syria.

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Prime Minister David Cameron promised to welcome 'thousands' of Syrians living in UN refugee camps on Friday as he stepped up efforts to tackle the crisis. He said the UK would 'act with our head and our heart'

A YouGov poll published today showed 52 per cent were in favour and 22 per cent were against while a Survation in The Mail on Sunday had just 29 per cent for and 48 per cent against.

After Mr Cameron announced on Friday that the UK would take 'thousands more' refugees, YouGov suggested that despite the outpouring which followed the death of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi, who drowned with his brother and mother, public opinion on the issue was divided.

It found while 36 per cent wanted Britain to admit more refugees fleeing the fighting in Syria, 27 per cent said the country should be taking fewer, with 14 per cent saying it should not admit any at all.

Announcing plans to welcome 'thousands' of Syrians living in UN refugee camps, Mr Cameron vowed that 'Britain will act with our head and our heart'.

He said the policy of taking those from the refugee camps would 'provide them with a direct and safe route to the UK, rather than risking the hazardous journey which has cost so many have lives'.

In a bid to avoid a backlash from the public, Mr Cameron ruled out playing any part in an EU quota scheme and said there will be no move to accept any of the thousands of people who have reached Europe already.

Downing Street was caught off guard by the extraordinary public and political reaction to harrowing images of three-year-old Ayan Kurdi who died with his brother and mother trying to reach the Greek island of Kos

No 10 has not yet put a number on how many refugees Britain is planning to admit, however Downing Street sources said they did not recognise a report suggesting it could be as high as 15,000.

Meanwhile, the former president of the European Commission Romano Prodi warned Mr Cameron will a price for his refusal to participate in a proposed quota scheme to distribute refugees around the EU - which would see 18,000 re-settled in the UK - when it came renegotiating Britain's EU membership.

'I do think there is a moral obligation, but I don't expect anything will be done [by the UK].' He told The Observer.

'This is a general problem, the contradiction of the British negotiation. I think it will not be easy for Cameron to have a positive deal in order to come back to London and say "Look, I got a lot from Brussels".'