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| Version 8 | Version 9 |
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| Islamic State conflict: Two Britons killed in RAF Syria strike | Islamic State conflict: Two Britons killed in RAF Syria strike |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Two British Islamic State jihadists who died in Syria were killed by an RAF drone strike, David Cameron has said. | Two British Islamic State jihadists who died in Syria were killed by an RAF drone strike, David Cameron has said. |
| Cardiff-born Reyaad Khan, 21, and Ruhul Amin, from Aberdeen, died last month in Raqqa, alongside another fighter, in the first targeted UK drone attack on a British citizen, Mr Cameron told MPs. | Cardiff-born Reyaad Khan, 21, and Ruhul Amin, from Aberdeen, died last month in Raqqa, alongside another fighter, in the first targeted UK drone attack on a British citizen, Mr Cameron told MPs. |
| Khan - the target - had been plotting "barbaric" attacks on UK soil, he said. | Khan - the target - had been plotting "barbaric" attacks on UK soil, he said. |
| The "act of self defence" was lawful, despite MPs previously ruling out UK military action in Syria, the PM said. | The "act of self defence" was lawful, despite MPs previously ruling out UK military action in Syria, the PM said. |
| Khan was killed in a precision strike on 21 August by a remotely piloted aircraft, "after meticulous planning", while he was travelling in a vehicle. | Khan was killed in a precision strike on 21 August by a remotely piloted aircraft, "after meticulous planning", while he was travelling in a vehicle. |
| Another British national, Junaid Hussain, 21 and from Birmingham, was killed in a separate air strike by US forces in Raqqa on 24 August. | Another British national, Junaid Hussain, 21 and from Birmingham, was killed in a separate air strike by US forces in Raqqa on 24 August. |
| Both Khan and Hussain had been involved in actively recruiting IS "sympathisers" and plotting to attack "high-profile public commemorations" taking place in the UK this summer, the prime minister said. | |
| The attorney general had been consulted and agreed there was a "clear legal basis" for the strike on Khan, Mr Cameron added. | The attorney general had been consulted and agreed there was a "clear legal basis" for the strike on Khan, Mr Cameron added. |
| Acting Labour leader Harriet Harman urged the government to publish the legal advice. | Acting Labour leader Harriet Harman urged the government to publish the legal advice. |
| Downing Street said it was a "long-standing convention that we do not publish advice of the law officers". | Downing Street said it was a "long-standing convention that we do not publish advice of the law officers". |
| 'Directing murder' | 'Directing murder' |
| Two years ago MPs rejected possible UK military action in Syria, but last September approved British participation in air strikes against IS targets in Iraq only. | Two years ago MPs rejected possible UK military action in Syria, but last September approved British participation in air strikes against IS targets in Iraq only. |
| However, officials said the UK would "act immediately [in Syria] and explain to Parliament afterwards" if there was "a critical British national interest at stake". | However, officials said the UK would "act immediately [in Syria] and explain to Parliament afterwards" if there was "a critical British national interest at stake". |
| The strike on Khan was "the first time in modern times that a British asset has been used to conduct a strike in a country where we're not involved in a war", the PM confirmed. | The strike on Khan was "the first time in modern times that a British asset has been used to conduct a strike in a country where we're not involved in a war", the PM confirmed. |
| "Of course Britain has used remotely piloted aircraft in Iraq and Afghanistan but this is a new departure and that's why I thought it important to come to the House and explain why I think it is necessary and justified." | "Of course Britain has used remotely piloted aircraft in Iraq and Afghanistan but this is a new departure and that's why I thought it important to come to the House and explain why I think it is necessary and justified." |
| Mr Cameron told MPs: "My first duty as prime minister is to keep the British people safe." | Mr Cameron told MPs: "My first duty as prime minister is to keep the British people safe." |
| In reference to Khan, he added: "There was a terrorist directing murder on our streets and no other means to stop him. | In reference to Khan, he added: "There was a terrorist directing murder on our streets and no other means to stop him. |
| "This government does not for one moment take these decisions lightly. | "This government does not for one moment take these decisions lightly. |
| "But I am not prepared to stand here in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on our streets and have to explain to the House why I did not take the chance to prevent it when I could have done." | "But I am not prepared to stand here in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on our streets and have to explain to the House why I did not take the chance to prevent it when I could have done." |
| Analysis | Analysis |
| By BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale | By BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale |
| Unmanned Reaper drones joined RAF Tornado jets in conducting surveillance and air strikes soon after Parliament authorised military action against the group calling itself Islamic State last September. | Unmanned Reaper drones joined RAF Tornado jets in conducting surveillance and air strikes soon after Parliament authorised military action against the group calling itself Islamic State last September. |
| The vote confined that military action to Iraq, but at the time the prime minister told MPs he "reserved the right" to act elsewhere "if there were a critical British national interest at stake". | The vote confined that military action to Iraq, but at the time the prime minister told MPs he "reserved the right" to act elsewhere "if there were a critical British national interest at stake". |
| The government will argue the air strike on Reyaad Khan was such a case. But carrying out an RAF air strike in Syria will still be controversial; even more so because a British citizen was targeted. | The government will argue the air strike on Reyaad Khan was such a case. But carrying out an RAF air strike in Syria will still be controversial; even more so because a British citizen was targeted. |
| Though government officials insist that he posed a direct threat to the UK and was on a legitimate "target list", there'll be plenty of questions. What was the intelligence on which the decision was based? Whose target list was he on? | Though government officials insist that he posed a direct threat to the UK and was on a legitimate "target list", there'll be plenty of questions. What was the intelligence on which the decision was based? Whose target list was he on? |
| There are reports the CIA has compiled a list of high-value targets. There will inevitably be some suspicion around the secrecy - the MoD has never publicly stated how many Reapers the RAF is operating or where they're based. | There are reports the CIA has compiled a list of high-value targets. There will inevitably be some suspicion around the secrecy - the MoD has never publicly stated how many Reapers the RAF is operating or where they're based. |
| The fact that RAF Reapers have been flying over Syria is not in itself a surprise. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon told MPs last October they would be conducting surveillance missions. | The fact that RAF Reapers have been flying over Syria is not in itself a surprise. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon told MPs last October they would be conducting surveillance missions. |
| But in a written statement he also stated: "Reapers are not authorised to use weapons in Syria; that would require further permission." | But in a written statement he also stated: "Reapers are not authorised to use weapons in Syria; that would require further permission." |
| In his address to the Commons, the prime minister also said: | In his address to the Commons, the prime minister also said: |
| Following the statement, former attorney general Dominic Grieve said it was possible the decision taken by the government could be "legally reviewed or challenged". | Following the statement, former attorney general Dominic Grieve said it was possible the decision taken by the government could be "legally reviewed or challenged". |
| Labour's Ms Harman called for "independent scrutiny" of the attack, asking: "Why didn't the attorney general authorise this specific action rather than merely 'confirming there was a legal basis for it'?" | Labour's Ms Harman called for "independent scrutiny" of the attack, asking: "Why didn't the attorney general authorise this specific action rather than merely 'confirming there was a legal basis for it'?" |
| 'Secret strikes' | 'Secret strikes' |
| A family friend of Khan's from Cardiff, Mohamed Islam, called for an investigation "to see the truth of this incident". | A family friend of Khan's from Cardiff, Mohamed Islam, called for an investigation "to see the truth of this incident". |
| He said it was "very complicated, very sad and very hard" for Khan's family. | He said it was "very complicated, very sad and very hard" for Khan's family. |
| Kat Craig, from human rights group Reprieve, called the air strike "deeply worrying". | Kat Craig, from human rights group Reprieve, called the air strike "deeply worrying". |
| "Make no mistake - what we are seeing is the failed US model of secret strikes being copied wholesale by the British government," she said. | "Make no mistake - what we are seeing is the failed US model of secret strikes being copied wholesale by the British government," she said. |
| BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said the targeting of Khan by his own country had set a precedent. | BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said the targeting of Khan by his own country had set a precedent. |
| The prime minister's official spokesman said any future decisions on whether to target IS militants believed to pose a threat to the UK would be taken on a case-by-case basis, and declined to say whether any other such strikes have been authorised. | The prime minister's official spokesman said any future decisions on whether to target IS militants believed to pose a threat to the UK would be taken on a case-by-case basis, and declined to say whether any other such strikes have been authorised. |