UK revisits possibility of military action in Syria

The UK is revisiting the possibility of military action in Syria in an effort to tackle the migration crisis that saw thousands of migrants arrive in Germany and Austria from Hungary this weekend.

The Hungarian government bussed undocumented migrants from the capital, Budapest, towards the Austrian and German border in 100 specially chartered buses on Saturday. Meanwhile Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban vowed to cut illegal immigration into Hungary to zero by September 15th when a 175km fence with the Serbian border is completed.

As divisions continued at EU level about how to tackle the migrant crisis, British chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne said there was "a strong case" for military intervention against Islamic State in Syria, but that the UK government would only put forward another House of Commons vote if it was likely to have parliamentary backing. His call for military intervention appeared to be given backing by the former archbishop of Canterbury George Carey who, in an article in the Sunday Telegraph, called for a renewed military effort to "crush" Islamic State.

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Migrants use a fountain in a public park to bathe and draw drinking water near the train station in Belgrade, Serbia. Photograph: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Commons vote

Just over two years ago, British prime minister

David Cameron

lost a Commons vote on intervention in Syria, though Britain has been taking part in coalition strikes against Islamic State in neighbouring

Iraq

since September last year.

With the Labour party in the midst of a leadership contest, the favourite to succeed Ed Miliband, Jeremy Corbyn, is likely to oppose military intervention in Syria. Yvette Cooper, another leadership contender, said she took a "very cautious view" on military intervention.

Relocation plan

Mr Cameron is expected to announce details of plans to accept thousands of Syrian refugees from UN camps outside

Europe

this week after he bowed to international and domestic pressure last week by announcing a relocation plan. Up to 15,000 refugees may be accepted according to some reports. However, Britain will not participate in a new EU relocation plan which could see an extra 120,000 refugees from Syria and

Eritrea

redistributed across the EU. Mr Osborne also suggested that some of Britain’s international aid budget could be diverted to councils to help local authorities house refugees.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker is due to unveil details of a relocation programme for asylum seekers on Wednesday in Strasbourg, which will then be considered by justice and home affairs ministers at a meeting in Brussels in a week's time. Spain, Britain and a number of central and eastern European countries are opposed to the concept of mandatory quotas for refugees, an idea that has been mooted by Germany for some time. Germany is expected to accept up to 800,000 migrants and refugees this year.

More than 10,000 undocumented migrants are believed to have entered Germany over the weekend, with most entering reception centres in the south of the country. Approximately 4,000 refugees crossed into Austria from Hungary, according to policy. Both Austria and Germany have in effect waived EU asylum rules which oblige refugees to apply for asylum in the country where they first arrive.