Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of British citizens who have travelled to Syria and Iraq to support forces opposed to Islamic State.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are aware of reports of a small number of British citizens fighting against ISIL in Syria and Iraq, but are not able to estimate accurately the total number. The UK advises against all travel to Syria and against travel to much of Iraq. Anyone who does travel to these areas, for whatever reason, is putting themselves in considerable danger. The Syrian National Coalition, which we recognise as the sole legitimate representatives of the Syrian people, have made clear that they do not want foreign fighters to come to their country. The best way for the British public to help the people of Syria and Iraq is to support UK registered charities that are providing humanitarian relief to those affected by the conflict.