MPs returned to Westminster last Friday for a special sitting to consider the Iraqi government’s request for Britain to join an international coalition to defend their country from the violent terrorist militia ISIL.

You may recall the plight of the Yazidi Christian community in northern Iraq earlier this summer, stranded, thirsty and exhausted on Mount Sinjar. They had fled the seemingly unstoppable advance of these extremists who’ve already killed thousands of civilians after sacking the Iraqi city of Mosul.

ISIL now commands authority in territory larger than the size of Britain. Among hostages they procured from the Syrian civil war, two American journalists and British aid worker David Haines were murdered by what appeared to be a British member of their terrorist militia.

Parliament backed British military action in the form of air strikes on selected ISIL targets in Iraq. The motion we passed makes clear that this will not involve British combat troops on the ground. As one of the two million who marched against the invasion of Iraq a decade ago, I am struck by how different this situation is.

Whilst I do not believe that air strikes will defeat the ISIL militia, they may prevent an unfolding genocide, and buy the Iraqi government some time and space to recover lost ground and protect their own civilian population.

Britain will also seek to engage other governments in the region to bring stability to Iraq and develop a political resolution to Syria’s bloody civil war. The Prime Minister’s landmark meeting with Iran’s recently-elected President Rouhani at the United Nations last week is a significant step forward.

1.8 million Iraqis have been displaced by ISIL’s violence, and earlier last month I asked the Development Secretary about the resources and expertise we are providing to address the humanitarian situation.

The Coalition Government is delivering £23 million of aid, including food, water, shelter and medical supplies, which are helping to save the lives of those across Iraq who have been forced to flee the terrorists.

We have already seen civilian casualties and damage from our allies’ campaign, so during the debate in the House of Commons, I asked the Government to work with the Iraqis to ensure that aid continues to reach those civilians caught up in the conflict.

My next surgery will be at Bradford on Avon library on October 10 from 10am.