HYNDBURN Labour MP Graham Jones has refused to back Jeremy Corbyn's call for Parliament to have a vote before UK forces are sent into action.

The opposition leader used as special House of Commons debate on Tuesday to demand a new War Powers Act requiring MPs to be consulted before British military intervention.

Mr Corbyn accused Prime Minister Theresa May of 'tossing aside' the convention set in 2003 of seeking prior Parliamentary approval when ordering Tornado jets to strike Syrian chemical weapons bases.

Mr Jones abstained in the vote on the issue while fellow Labour MPs Kate Hollern (Blackburn) and Julie Cooper (Burnley) voted with their leader.

He said: "I think a new War Powers Act would be unnecessarily complex.

"It is right that the Prime Minister can order military action in certain circumstances under the Crown Prerogative, as Theresa May did, and then be accountable to Parliament afterwards.

"Sometimes stealth is needed and, for instance, it would have been impossible to call a vote before the D Day landings without losing many more British troops.

"However, I did not feel strongly enough to vote with the Tories in his issue."

Conservative MPs Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley) Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) and Jake Berry (Rossendale and Darwen) all voted against the Labour move.

Mr Evans told the debate: "The efficiency and security of British armed forces in any military action could be compromised if we were to go down the route suggested by the leader of the opposition.

"That be even further magnified when our military action takes place in co-operation with, for example, the United States of America, France and perhaps several other countries."