Britain could provide logistical support for US strikes against insurgents in Iraq, Cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith said amid reports of a Cabinet rift over the issue.
Duncan Smith said “we have got to do what we can” to support the US if Barack Obama takes action against the extremist militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis).
The Work and Pensions Secretary suggested support for the US could take the form of supply and maintenance, but the Government has repeatedly ruled out military intervention by British forces.
Last week the US president said he was prepared to take “targeted and precise” action in Iraq, and up to 300 military advisers to help train and advise Iraqi forces will be deployed to the country.
Duncan Smith, Tory leader at the time of the Iraq War, said: “We have to do what we can to support the Americans.
“The Government has said it’s not going to be doing any airstrikes or putting soldiers into Iraq but I think there are lots of other things we can do to help support them – make sure they get the right spare parts and support in maintaining those kind of aircraft and equipment and also support the Americans where they need it in terms of supply, et cetera.”
Asked if British bases could be used, Mr Duncan Smith pointed out that an “awful lot of Iraq” was not being run by Isis, indicating that bases in that country could be used.
But he added: “The Government’s position has been quite clearly that we will do what we can to support what the Americans want to do in terms of this. We are not going to be, as I understand it, joining them.
“But what we will be doing is helping the Iraqi government and helping the Americans to stabilise the situation.
“We should be in no doubt that Isis are a really nasty, brutal operation. We have seen some of the dreadful pictures of what they have been doing in the cities and towns that they control.”
The Sunday Times reported that there was a split within the Government over how much support the UK should be prepared to offer Obama if he does decide to launch airstrikes.
The newspaper said opposition to providing support for the airstrikes was led by veteran Tory minister Ken Clarke, backed by Foreign Office minister Baroness Warsi, Commons Leader Andrew Lansley and Liberal Democrat ministers.
The report said Defence Secretary Philip Hammond told the cabinet Britain should keep open the option of backing US airstrikes and in the National Security Council made clear he thinks the UK should “absolutely be doing anything the US asks”.
The chancellor George Osborne warned the Cabinet that Britain’s interests are at stake because the conflict could drive up oil prices – an intervention seen by his colleagues as evidence that he wants all options on the table.
Their position is supported by Michael Gove, the education secretary, and Sajid Javid, the culture secretary, the newspaper reported.
Duncan Smith said: “If Isis was to eventually take over Iraq that could cause complete chaos in the Middle East, that would affect us even indirectly in terms of the cost of running our country, the West would suffer dramatically, that’s the shallowest part of it.
“The reality is it’s a very dangerous situation.”
