:00:00. > :00:13.Britain is just hours away from carrying out air strikes on Iraq.
:00:14. > :00:19.The ayes to the right, 524. The noes to the left, 43.
:00:20. > :00:22.THE SPEAKER: The ayes have it. After MPs vote overwhelmingly to
:00:23. > :00:27.intervene, six RAF jets have been committed to fight the extremists
:00:28. > :00:31.of Islamic State. This isn't a threat
:00:32. > :00:44.on the far side of the world. Left unchecked, we will face a
:00:45. > :00:46.terrorist caliphate on the shores of the Mediterranean and boredering a
:00:47. > :00:51.NATO member with a determination to attack our country and our people.
:00:52. > :00:57.In acting against them, we need to learn lessons from the past.
:00:58. > :01:05.That means a comprehensive VATTy, humanitarian and political, as well
:01:06. > :01:07.as military and crucially rooted in the region.
:01:08. > :01:10.And the Prime Minister signalled that Britain may have to consider
:01:11. > :01:15.Nigel Farage unveils a policy of tax cuts and says UKIP has both the
:01:16. > :01:20.As Dave Lee Travis gets a suspended sentence for indecent
:01:21. > :01:25.assault, he says the case should never have come to court.
:01:26. > :01:29.And it's coming up roses for Europe at the Ryder Cup,
:01:30. > :01:43.The MP for Bethnal Green and Bow resigns as Shadow Education Minister
:01:44. > :01:45.over the vote for air strikes in Iraq.
:01:46. > :01:48.And claims that housing costs are driving employees away,
:01:49. > :02:15.Within hours, Britain will return to a combat role
:02:16. > :02:19.in Iraq, after MPs voted overwhelmingly to back air strikes
:02:20. > :02:22.against extremist fighters from the group known as Islamic State.
:02:23. > :02:26.The RAF will join the bombing campaign
:02:27. > :02:30.Operation Shader, led by the United States, as early as this weekend.
:02:31. > :02:33.In a seven-hour-long emergency debate at Westminster,
:02:34. > :02:38.the Prime Minister said Britain would need to demonstrate patience
:02:39. > :02:41.and persistence to tackle the IS threat in Iraq but that no ground
:02:42. > :02:49.524 MPs backed military action - 43 voted against the motion.
:02:50. > :02:53.Many of them warned that air strikes alone won't defeat the extremists.
:02:54. > :02:57.In a moment, we'll be reporting from Iraq's
:02:58. > :03:02.First, our Political Editor, Nick Robinson,
:03:03. > :03:14.Here they go again, RAF tornadoes will be attacking targets in Iraq
:03:15. > :03:17.soon. 11 years after the Bush-Blair invasion, 24 years after the Gulf
:03:18. > :03:23.war. Will this be the start of British involvement in a third Iraq
:03:24. > :03:30.war or simply, small-scale, largely symbolic military action? The ayes
:03:31. > :03:34.to the right, 524. The noes to the left, 436789 Today's vote was only
:03:35. > :03:39.so overwhelming because it allowed MPs with conflicting views about the
:03:40. > :03:44.future to back the same motion. It masked deep anxiety about what might
:03:45. > :03:48.follow next. Anxiety that showed on the face of the Prime Minister today
:03:49. > :03:53.and in hands that could be seen shaking, as he stood up to tell MPs
:03:54. > :03:58.that military action was not just moral and legal, but his and their
:03:59. > :04:02.duty. Left unchecked, we will face a terrorist caliphate on the shores of
:04:03. > :04:07.the Mediterranean and boredering a NATO member, with a declared and
:04:08. > :04:11.proven determination to attack our country and our people. This is not
:04:12. > :04:16.the stuff of fantasy, it is happening in front of us. We need to
:04:17. > :04:19.face up to it. The RAF, he said, should join the Air Forces of
:04:20. > :04:22.America, Europe, and the Gulf states. And protecting the streets
:04:23. > :04:26.of Britain should not be a task that we are prepared to entirely
:04:27. > :04:32.subcontract to other Air Forces of other countries. Today's motion
:04:33. > :04:38.limits military action to Iraq and excludes ground operations, but
:04:39. > :04:42.minutes into the Prime Minister's speech, a ask was asked -- a
:04:43. > :04:51.question was asked. How long will this war last and when will Mission
:04:52. > :04:56.Creep start? Is he seriously contending by air strikes alone we
:04:57. > :04:59.can role back ISUL or is this gesture politics? The Commons is
:05:00. > :05:04.haunted by another vote, at another time, about military action in the
:05:05. > :05:09.same place. Many now say they regret the vote back in 2003, but still
:05:10. > :05:16.back action now. Including the Liberal Democrats. And the Labour
:05:17. > :05:19.leader, who said the case today was very different. One of those is the
:05:20. > :05:24.Labour leader, who said the case now was very different. This case is
:05:25. > :05:28.about supporting a democratic state. It is not about overturning an
:05:29. > :05:33.existing regime and seeking to build a new He said Britain one. Should
:05:34. > :05:37.not leave it to others to act. If we say to people that we will pass by
:05:38. > :05:40.on this one, it surely makes it harder to persuade other Arab
:05:41. > :05:46.countries to play their One Shadow minister part. Quit and the aide to
:05:47. > :05:50.another was sacked after refusing to back their leader. This recent
:05:51. > :05:57.video, released by those fighting for what they call Islamic State, is
:05:58. > :06:01.in the Syrian city of Kibani, not Iraq. So why was Britain talking of
:06:02. > :06:06.action in Iraq alone? The elephant in the room for me remains Syria.
:06:07. > :06:10.They will never be defeated if it is allowed to regroup from its Syrian
:06:11. > :06:14.bases. The Prime Minister agreed on the need for military strikes
:06:15. > :06:18.against IS in Syria too, but promised another Commons vote first.
:06:19. > :06:22.We support the action that the United States and five Arab states
:06:23. > :06:26.have taken in Syria and I do believe there's a strong case for us to do
:06:27. > :06:29.more in Syria. But I did not want to bring a motion to the House today,
:06:30. > :06:34.which there wasn't consensus for. That's code for saying he couldn't
:06:35. > :06:39.be sure that Labour or many of his backbenchers would back him in the
:06:40. > :06:43.face of warnings like this. ISU L is a death cult. It's a gang of
:06:44. > :06:48.terrorist murderers. It's not an army. It's certainly not an army
:06:49. > :06:53.that's going to be destroyed by aerial bombardment. Even some who
:06:54. > :07:01.voted for air strikes today said the past showed the risks ahead. What
:07:02. > :07:06.happened was in all those cases the military deployment produced a
:07:07. > :07:11.situation, at least as bad as it had been before and actually, largely
:07:12. > :07:16.worse. British Muslim leaders have already united to condemn IS, but
:07:17. > :07:20.should that extend to backing military action against them? What
:07:21. > :07:25.they're doing is not good. We want people to be involved as well,
:07:26. > :07:31.Britain potentially should be involved. We should have to
:07:32. > :07:38.negotiate with them, sit down and negotiate, because you will create
:07:39. > :07:42.thousands of IS. In the House of Lords a warning of the risks of
:07:43. > :07:47.alienating swathes of the Muslim communities. The drum beat of war,
:07:48. > :07:50.my Lord's, has been quickly accelerated over the past two weeks
:07:51. > :07:54.without references to the aftermath. The Church of England and the
:07:55. > :07:59.Government were, today, singing from the same hymn sheet. The action
:08:00. > :08:07.proposed today is right, but we must not rely on a short-term solution,
:08:08. > :08:10.on a narrow front, to a global, ideological, religious and
:08:11. > :08:15.transgenerational challenge. For the third time in a quarter of a century
:08:16. > :08:19.MPs have voted to deploy our armed forces in Iraq, that's how it
:08:20. > :08:26.begins. No-one knows how or when it will end.
:08:27. > :08:29.Britain will initially deploy six tornado warplanes to attack
:08:30. > :08:36.It joins a global coalition which has already carried out more than
:08:37. > :08:42.United States forces launched most of those, with warplanes
:08:43. > :08:45.from France, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain and the United Arab
:08:46. > :08:51.Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark have said they will soon join
:08:52. > :08:57.Some of the latest airstrikes targeted IS
:08:58. > :09:01.fighters on the frontline, close to Kirkuk in northern Iraq.
:09:02. > :09:08.Our Middle East correspondent is there and has sent this report from
:09:09. > :09:12.Iraq's frontline. The frontlines between Iraq and the
:09:13. > :09:17.so-called Islamic State stretch for miles. It's near these winding
:09:18. > :09:23.trenches that British planes will soon be bombing. At times, the two
:09:24. > :09:30.sides here are dangerously close. Less than 100 metres away. Again and
:09:31. > :09:38.again, their black flag dots the skyline. But in the past few days,
:09:39. > :09:41.the fight has changed here. The Kurdish Peshmerga say IS have gone
:09:42. > :09:48.to ground, thanks to American aircraft. Just the sound of American
:09:49. > :09:53.planes is enough to send IS fighters scurrying for cover. British
:09:54. > :09:56.tornadoes will soon be joining them. The air strikes are already making a
:09:57. > :10:00.difference. Yesterday afternoon, on the other side of the river, three
:10:01. > :10:05.IS local commanders were killed in an American bombing, but what the
:10:06. > :10:08.Peshmerga are telling us, if they're to push back the Islamic State, they
:10:09. > :10:16.will need more than just air support. New guns are top of the
:10:17. > :10:20.list and Britain has sent supplies. TRANSLATION: You may have heard on
:10:21. > :10:27.the news that we are receiving a lot of weapons, but I'm telling you,
:10:28. > :10:33.that we haven't received as much as said yet. To everyone listening,
:10:34. > :10:39.please send support quickly. More than a million have been displaced
:10:40. > :10:43.here. Iraq's people, Sunni, Shia, Kurds and Arabs, have been divided.
:10:44. > :10:52.If the country is to be pieced back together, it will need outside help.
:10:53. > :10:55."We just want to go back to our city. Whoever it is that drives IS
:10:56. > :11:03.out, we just want to take our families home. "
:11:04. > :11:07.TRANSLATION: There is no work, no money. Everyone is miserable. If
:11:08. > :11:13.they attack IS it will be good for all the poor people. Iraqis have
:11:14. > :11:15.faced the Islamic State but this is now Britain's fight too. It won't be
:11:16. > :11:21.short and it won't be easy. The latest Islamic State offensive
:11:22. > :11:26.has focused on the strategic border town of Kobane inside Syria, just
:11:27. > :11:30.meters from the Turkish border. The fighting has sent
:11:31. > :11:34.at least 140,000 people fleeing across that border, into Turkey,
:11:35. > :11:38.because they fear a repeat of the atrocities committed against the
:11:39. > :11:41.Yazidi community in Northern Iraq. Our Middle East Correspondent,
:11:42. > :11:45.Paul Wood, is the first Western journalist to get into Kobane,
:11:46. > :11:59.and he's sent us this exclusive Turkish territory and safety is
:12:00. > :12:07.agonisingly close. They've been chased here by Islamic State but can
:12:08. > :12:12.go no further. Several thousand Syrian Kurds are stuck on the
:12:13. > :12:19.railway line that marks the Syrian-Turkish bored. As refugees
:12:20. > :12:23.they can't take their animals, their livelihoods with them. They believe
:12:24. > :12:28.they'll be killed if they turn back. This man says the world has
:12:29. > :12:32.abandoned them. Where's the international community, he asks,
:12:33. > :12:39.where's our human rights? Where's your conscience? Look around you.
:12:40. > :12:44.Behind them lies the town of Kobane. It's holding out, but only just,
:12:45. > :12:48.against Islamic State. Shops and homes are shuttered. That's no
:12:49. > :12:54.surprise. The frontlines are just ten minutes away.
:12:55. > :13:00.The Kurds are lightly armed. This is a home-made armoured vehicle. But
:13:01. > :13:07.they are defiant. Here, Kobane is defended by a unit of female
:13:08. > :13:13.fighters. "We fight for our land. No matter what weapons the enemy has,
:13:14. > :13:18.our will to fight is stronger." But the jihadis are closing in,
:13:19. > :13:26.advancing along this, the main road, to Kobane. Turn around and go back.
:13:27. > :13:35.The Kurds know they must stop them here or lose the town. The Kurds say
:13:36. > :13:40.air strikes have not stopped Islamic State from moving forces up to
:13:41. > :13:45.confront them. They're pleading for a more decisive
:13:46. > :13:51.Western intervention. Islamic State fighters filmed
:13:52. > :13:59.themselves on the road to Kobane, happy and relaxed. They believe
:14:00. > :14:03.victory is within their grasp. Tonight, the jihadis began a new
:14:04. > :14:08.offensive. We left just as the battle was getting under way.
:14:09. > :14:13.The Kurds hoped that air strikes would take some of the pressure off
:14:14. > :14:18.them, but every night, here, Islamic State fighters have been attacking.
:14:19. > :14:19.On this part of the frontline, the jihadis remain as ambitious and
:14:20. > :14:24.dangerous as ever. In a moment, we'll assess the day's
:14:25. > :14:27.events with our Political Editor, First, our Defence Correspondent,
:14:28. > :14:32.Jonathan Beale, is at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus,
:14:33. > :14:48.where the British tornado fighters What is expected where you are in
:14:49. > :14:51.terms of what happens next? We've heard no jets leaving and the
:14:52. > :14:56.Defence Secretary has said there will be no British strikes tonight.
:14:57. > :15:00.That may be because it will take some time for US Central Command to
:15:01. > :15:05.provide them with targets and remember, Britain is joining this
:15:06. > :15:08.fight more than a month after the US launched its first air strikes. They
:15:09. > :15:11.would have already taken out some of the more obvious targets like
:15:12. > :15:16.command and control centres. Remember too, there are only six RAF
:15:17. > :15:19.tornadoes here. That's on par with countries like the Netherlands and
:15:20. > :15:23.France. When you look at France, there was a six-day gap between
:15:24. > :15:27.launching their first strikes and second strikes. This is not going to
:15:28. > :15:31.be high tempo operations. But we do expect to see RAF warplanes loaded
:15:32. > :15:38.with bombs flying from here within the next 48 hours. Thank you.
:15:39. > :15:44.Let's turn to Nick Robinson. A clear vote in the Commons but you didn't
:15:45. > :15:47.have to listen for that debate for long to pick up on real anxieties
:15:48. > :15:51.about where this could be heading? . That's right. Anxieties, fuelled,
:15:52. > :15:56.frankly, by the Prime Minister's very clear statement that he wants
:15:57. > :16:00.to see this military action extended to Syria and he believes there is a
:16:01. > :16:04.moral and legal basis for doing that, under the United Nations'
:16:05. > :16:08.charter. So, why, you may ask, did he not present a motion that would
:16:09. > :16:12.have allowed him to do it. Quite simply, he was uncertain he boo get
:16:13. > :16:16.the Parliamentary support he needed. -- he would get. Labour backed him
:16:17. > :16:20.today but on the issue of extending action to Syria, Ed Miliband has
:16:21. > :16:25.been clear, that he thinks it would be better, to use his exact word
:16:26. > :16:30."better" if it was presented to the UN, not, therefore, an objection in
:16:31. > :16:34.principle if that doesn't happen. He raised doubts about which ground
:16:35. > :16:37.forces would be supported in Syria and what the end game might
:16:38. > :16:41.ultimately be. The calculation of ministers I'm told is a simple one -
:16:42. > :16:44.that if the public, if Members of Parliament, see progress being made
:16:45. > :16:50.after air strikes continue in Iraq, if, for example, the town of Mosul
:16:51. > :16:54.falls back into the hands of the Iraqi government forces, if ISIS
:16:55. > :16:59.continues its murderous campaign against hostages, or indeed against
:17:00. > :17:03.European targets, then parliamentary opinion and public opinion will
:17:04. > :17:04.switch to backing military action in Syria as well.
:17:05. > :17:11.Thank you. We'll have more about today's
:17:12. > :17:13.vote later in the programme. The UK Independence Party has used
:17:14. > :17:17.its conference in Doncaster to try to reach out to
:17:18. > :17:21.Labour supporters and to show voters that it has policies on issues other
:17:22. > :17:23.than Europe and immigration. The party's leader, Nigel Farage,
:17:24. > :17:26.has promised to reduce income tax for middle earners
:17:27. > :17:29.and eliminate it completely for people on the minimum wage by
:17:30. > :17:35.using savings from leaving the EU. From Doncaster, here's our political
:17:36. > :17:40.correspondent, Vicki Young. Nigel Farage believes UKIP is
:17:41. > :17:43.shaking the foundations of the Westminster political system
:17:44. > :17:46.but he wants to broaden the party's appeal - by talking about more than
:17:47. > :17:49.Europe and immigration. And he thinks Labour votes are up
:17:50. > :17:54.for grabs in the north of England. This conference is taking place
:17:55. > :18:00.on the doorstep of the Labour Mr Farage told supporters UKIP's
:18:01. > :18:05.opponents were quaking Many of our target seats will be
:18:06. > :18:11.seats that are currently held We pose a threat -
:18:12. > :18:18.not just to the Conservative Party, as the papers would have you
:18:19. > :18:21.believe - we pose a threat to the entire British political class
:18:22. > :18:27.and I'll drink to that. Mr Farage wants to beef up
:18:28. > :18:30.his economic policies. He used to highlight the abolition
:18:31. > :18:34.of inheritance tax for the wealthy. Now he is talking about no tax
:18:35. > :18:38.for those on the minimum wage. They are evening considering a new
:18:39. > :18:41.tax on designer shoes and handbags. -- they are even considering a new
:18:42. > :18:47.tax on designer shoes and handbags. At a nearby aluminium factory,
:18:48. > :18:50.some former Labour voters said they were looking for an alternative
:18:51. > :18:54.and liked what UKIP had to offer. We are sick and tired of working
:18:55. > :18:57.and working and working and getting What about the politicians
:18:58. > :19:00.at Westminster? No, I don't think they understand
:19:01. > :19:03.at all. I think they are just
:19:04. > :19:05.for themselves. I think Labour and Conservatives
:19:06. > :19:07.are just one party. But Nigel does sound like he has
:19:08. > :19:13.a bit of roar in his voice. I say give the man a whirl,
:19:14. > :19:15.basically. You know, others have tried
:19:16. > :19:18.and failed in other areas but I say, Mr Farage is known
:19:19. > :19:23.for his plain-speaking. Today he blamed the abuse
:19:24. > :19:27.of hundreds of children in Rotherham on the Labour council's reluctance
:19:28. > :19:30.to speak out because some abusers Some people are saying to me -
:19:31. > :19:36.Nigel, it is wrong, you shouldn't You shouldn't be making
:19:37. > :19:40.this political. Well, I'm sorry, but
:19:41. > :19:44.if this isn't political, what is? An all-out attack on Labour,
:19:45. > :19:46.which went There is a raw energy
:19:47. > :19:51.about this party. It is not slick,
:19:52. > :19:55.it's not polished but Nigel Farage knows that that's part
:19:56. > :19:58.of the attraction and soon they are With two by-elections
:19:59. > :20:02.on the horizon, they are aiming Today Nigel Farage
:20:03. > :20:07.and his team contradicted each other Their opponents picked holes
:20:08. > :20:13.in their tax plans, but they are The former Radio 1 DJ,
:20:14. > :20:24.Dave Lee Travis, has been given a three-month suspended prison
:20:25. > :20:26.sentence for indecent assault. He was convicted of groping
:20:27. > :20:30.a young researcher, who was working Travis said the case should
:20:31. > :20:35.never have come to court. This report from Matt Prodger
:20:36. > :20:37.contains flash photography He'd just been given
:20:38. > :20:45.a suspended sentence But as David Lee Travis left court,
:20:46. > :20:51.he was unrepentant. Whilst I'm relieved that I have been
:20:52. > :20:54.able to prove that I'm not a sexual predator, I'm mortified
:20:55. > :21:00.and I am really disappointed that I was convicted of one count and it is
:21:01. > :21:05.of little comfort to me that I was Judge Anthony Leonard quoted
:21:06. > :21:12.a statement from the victim, which said, "I was a naive
:21:13. > :21:15.and trusting 22-year-old when I was subjected to an
:21:16. > :21:18.unprovoked and terrifying physical Being called a liar
:21:19. > :21:26.and fantacist has been painful." It's a fall from grace for the man
:21:27. > :21:31.who was once a famous name at the Just before he was sentenced,
:21:32. > :21:37.Dave Lee Travis shouted angrily at this journalist,
:21:38. > :21:41.as she sat in the Public Gallery. In 2012, she said he'd groped her,
:21:42. > :21:46.too. I think that I would have preferred
:21:47. > :21:48.it I also felt very sympathetic for the
:21:49. > :21:54.victim in this case, who summoned up the courage to come in and relate
:21:55. > :21:57.what was actually a very unpleasant After two trials,
:21:58. > :22:03.the man whose real name is David Griffin has been spared prison
:22:04. > :22:06.but the damage to his reputation Eight men, including
:22:07. > :22:18.the radical preacher Anjem Choudary, who were detained yesterday as part
:22:19. > :22:22.of an investigation into alleged support of a banned extremist group,
:22:23. > :22:25.have been released on bail. Mr Choudary claims his arrest
:22:26. > :22:31.was "politically motivated". Police investigating the
:22:32. > :22:34.disappearance of 14-year-old Alice Gross in west London, have finished
:22:35. > :22:37.searching a park, close to where she An area of disturbed ground had been
:22:38. > :22:43.considered a potential lead but officers have now said it's not
:22:44. > :22:48.connected to the case. The Home Secretary has announced
:22:49. > :22:51.that the Passport Office is to be brought back under the control
:22:52. > :22:54.of the Home Office. The move follows widespread
:22:55. > :22:56.criticism of delays in processing passport applications
:22:57. > :22:57.over the summer. The PCS union said the timing of the
:22:58. > :23:01.announcement - just minutes before the parliamentary debate about Iraq
:23:02. > :23:09.- was "cynical and shameless". Golf now,
:23:10. > :23:12.and on day one of the Ryder Cup, the favourites Europe have taken a two
:23:13. > :23:15.point lead over the United States, America started well in the morning
:23:16. > :23:20.session, but a late charge by Europe Since 1979 - when America first
:23:21. > :23:24.faced a Europe-wide team - Europe has managed nine wins
:23:25. > :23:31.and there's been one draw. Our Sports Correspondent,
:23:32. > :23:34.Andy Swiss, has been watching A perfect Perthshire morning was in
:23:35. > :23:46.for the loudest of wake-up calls. Europe's Justin Rose and the
:23:47. > :23:56.US's Bubba Watson working the crowd into a frenzy, as
:23:57. > :23:59.the players were roared under way. Watson's errant opener
:24:00. > :24:05.seemed to set the tone. It was the hosts that settled
:24:06. > :24:09.the quicker - Sergio Garcia with an Then they stumbled and in
:24:10. > :24:20.Ian Poulter's case, sank - Europe's talisman wayward and walloped and
:24:21. > :24:24.when Phil Mickleson followed-up his prematch jibes with victory over
:24:25. > :24:32.Rory McIlroy, it was advantage USA. So Europe head into the afternoon
:24:33. > :24:34.matches already with some work to After such high hopes,
:24:35. > :24:39.the fans will now be hoping that Justin Rose led the charge with
:24:40. > :24:49.his second win of the day. And finally, the world's best lived
:24:50. > :24:52.up to his billing - McIlroy grabbing By the time Graeme McDowell rolled
:24:53. > :25:00.in a final putt, a one-point deficit They took their time
:25:01. > :25:12.but Europe now have the edge. The splendours of Blenheim Palace
:25:13. > :25:15.are now adorned with artworks The stately home in Oxfordshire is
:25:16. > :25:21.hosting the largest ever exhibition by the artist, who is
:25:22. > :25:26.still under house arrest in China. Some of his new work features 3D
:25:27. > :25:30.images of his confiscated passport. Our Arts Correspondent,
:25:31. > :25:44.David Sillito, The grandier of Blenheim Palace but
:25:45. > :25:50.as you walk in the chandelier is new. Turn the corner and you see
:25:51. > :25:59.2,000-year-old Chinese vases covered in glossy paint this. Rice bowl
:26:00. > :26:05.filled with 25 kilos of pearls. Sly digs at status symbols and elites by
:26:06. > :26:08.Ai Weiwei. Lord Edward Spencer Churchill does it feel comfortable?
:26:09. > :26:12.I think it is great. The whole point is to challenge these things all of
:26:13. > :26:18.the time. It's all been created in Beijing. Ai Weiwei is forbidden from
:26:19. > :26:23.leaving China. So, he's had to create a virtual Blenheim Palace to
:26:24. > :26:32.position the works. I still don't have a passport. I'm still under a
:26:33. > :26:36.kind of detention here but I'm very satisfied that the work can be there
:26:37. > :26:41.and the audience can see the work. Zblts not just Blenheim. -- It's not
:26:42. > :26:46.just Blenheim. This is opening in Alcatraz. His fame is unparalleled.
:26:47. > :26:51.Other Chinese artists on show here in Manchester reflect a very
:26:52. > :26:57.different mood I think he is a very important artist in China, but he is
:26:58. > :27:02.not the only one. Also, I am not a believer to say politics is the core
:27:03. > :27:08.of contemporary art. The Chinese visitors were a little bewildered by
:27:09. > :27:16.Blenheim's avant-garde arrivals. Ai Weiwei? None had heard of him.
:27:17. > :27:20.Now, we'll return to tonight's main story. The UK preparing to carry out
:27:21. > :27:26.air strikes in Iraq. THE SPEAKER: Order, order.
:27:27. > :27:30.MPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of joining the US-led coalition of
:27:31. > :27:34.Western and Arab nations in air strikes on Islamic state targets.
:27:35. > :27:39.David Cameron told the Commons it's in the national interest to confront
:27:40. > :27:44.IS militarily and said the mission will take years, not months.
:27:45. > :27:48.Well, our Middle East editor, Jeremy Bowen joins from us Beirut in
:27:49. > :27:53.Lebanon now. The UK is involved, alongside
:27:54. > :27:59.America. How Sol this being viewed in the wider region? -- how is this
:28:00. > :28:03.being viewed? Well, there are interesting things
:28:04. > :28:07.on social media first of all coming out of Syria and opinion towards
:28:08. > :28:11.IS's moving, not the way the Americans and the British would
:28:12. > :28:19.like, among some. That's because -- one important thing to know about IS
:28:20. > :28:22.is it fell out with other Jihadi groups and they have been fighting
:28:23. > :28:26.each other. Now there are calls for the two groups to get together
:28:27. > :28:30.because Nusra has also been attacked and it is more popular on the ground
:28:31. > :28:33.than IS is. That's one thing. Another thing is that President
:28:34. > :28:38.Obama's strategy is to get local fighters to take on IS on the
:28:39. > :28:42.ground. Now a lot of those are Sunni rebels who have been fighting
:28:43. > :28:45.already for three years. Their priority is the downfall of
:28:46. > :28:51.President Assad. They are wondering why it is that the Americans are not
:28:52. > :28:56.wanting to hit Assad. Why they tipped off Assad? They are asking
:28:57. > :28:59.questions like where were the Americans when there were barrel
:29:00. > :29:02.bombs and chemical weapons and their people were starving to death. In
:29:03. > :29:07.other words, the Americans and British have pledged head-long into
:29:08. > :29:09.the highly complicated politics of a very bloody, intractable war.
:29:10. > :29:13.Thank you. And that is it from us for this
:29:14. > :29:14.evening. Now on BBC One, time for