UK Prime Minister David Cameron has promised that Britain’s military would play its part to tackle the “mortal threat” posed by “murderous plans” of ISIL militants in Iraq and Syria

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has promised that Britain’s military would play its part to tackle the “mortal threat” posed by “murderous plans” of ISIL militants in Iraq and Syria.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, the prime minister confirmed parliament would be recalled on Friday to secure approval for Britain to participate in US-led air strikes in Iraq against the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant terrorist group.

Cameron said it was right to “learn the lessons of the past” but that “past mistakes”, particularly in Iraq a decade ago, should not “become an excuse for indifference or inaction”.

“We have to learn the right lessons,” he said. “Yes to careful preparation; no to rushing to join a conflict without a clear plan. But we must not be so frozen with fear that we don’t do anything at all.”

A formal request from the Iraqi government for help combating Isis was “a clear basis in international law for action”, Cameron said, although he stressed: “I don’t believe this threat of Islamist extremism will best be solved by western ground troops trying to pacify or reconstruct Middle Eastern or African countries.”

Echoing President Barack Obama’s speech to the UN earlier in the day, Cameron called on more countries in the Middle East to join the coalition. He said Iran “should also be given the chance to show it can be part of the solution, not part of the problem”.