London: British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn is offering his Labour Party’s MPs a free vote on whether Britain should join air strikes but will ask Prime Minister David Cameron for more time, media reports said today.
A senior source confirmed a report in The Guardian outlining Corbyn’s offer to his top officials, making it more likely that Britain will join the air campaign, despite the Labour leader himself being opposed.
“Jeremy Corbyn gives Labour MPs free vote,” read a headline on The Guardian website, adding that Corbyn would ask for “a longer timetable” for a vote that had been expected to be held later this week.
The party’s press office declined to comment.
Experts said Corbyn would have faced a rebellion from dozens of Labour MPs who are in favour of the strikes if he had ordered lawmakers to oppose them.
Cameron’s spokesman earlier today said: “We have always said we would only come back to the house for a vote if we felt there was a clear majority”.