'I'm in favour of air strikes' - Richard Benyon speaks ahead of IS Commons vote.

That was the view of Newbury MP Richard Benyon talking ahead of today's vote on whether Britain should launch air strikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq.
IS, which follows a radical interpretation of Islam, has carved out swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in an attempt to establish a Caliphate – an Islamic State led by a supreme religious and political leader – in the region.
The group has taken responsibility for beheading Western hostages, as well as crucifixions and mass killings in the region.
British MPs are to be recalled to parliament today (Friday) to vote on whether the country should join the United States, France and Arab countries in launching air strikes against IS, also known as ISIL and ISIS, targets.
Mr Benyon said he thought that MPs would support the strikes and that he was intending to speak in the debate.
He said: “I’m in favour of air strikes. They are the result of a request by the Iraqi government and the local people who have been murdered and massacred by ISIL to try and defeat them.
“I will listen to the debate but at the moment I will vote to support air strikes in Iraq. I will say that the Government is right not to bargain with these people. It’s very hard to do but the Government is right not to negotiate and pay ransoms.
Mr Benyon, who voted in favour of British forces intervening in the civil war in Syria last year, said: “My default position is not to intervene, I don’t do this as a reflex response but on this action.... we have to hit these people hard and allow the government forces in Iraq and Kurdistan to retake control.
“The alternative is too horrendous. This is about keeping ourselves safe as well as trying to bring stability to this part of the world.”
Speaking at the United Nations in New York on Wednesday the Prime Minister, David Cameron, said that the UK was ready to “play its part” in fighting IS, which he described as “an evil against which the whole world must unite.”