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21 March 2011
Last updated at 13:44 ET
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Live coverage of the Commons debate about Libya: From Democracy Live
David Cameron has told MPs action in Libya has already helped avert a "bloody massacre" in Benghazi and had come "just in the nick of time".
The PM opened a debate on military action saying it was "necessary, legal and right" and inaction could have led to the "slaughter of civilians".
He said it would not be "another Iraq" - it was about protecting Libyans who would decide their own future.
The debate is expected to end with a vote at about 2200 GMT.
Mr Cameron said a no-fly zone "has effectively been put in place over Libya" - air strikes over the weekend followed the UN's decision to back military action to protect Libyan civilians as Col Muammar Gaddafi fights a rebellion that broke out last month.
RAF Typhoons were being sent to southern Italy - 25 minutes' flying time from the Libyan coast - to help patrol the no-fly zone, he said.
"It is also clear that coalition forces have helped to avert what could have been a bloody massacre in Benghazi. In my view they did so just in the nick of time," Mr Cameron said.
The prime minister said that if action had not been taken on Saturday Benghazi and Tobruk would probably have fallen.
"It's quite clear the population of Benghazi was under heavy attack. Civilians were being killed in significant numbers and an exodus from the town had begun. There was an urgent need to stop the slaughter."
While most MPs - including Labour leader Ed Miliband - expressed their support for the action, questions were raised about its scope and post-conflict planning.
Amid concerns from SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson about the "potential for mission creep", Mr Cameron said the UN resolution was about protecting civilians: "Many people will ask questions I'm sure today about regime change and Gaddafi and the rest of it.
"I've been clear, I think Libya needs to get rid of Gaddafi. But in the end we are responsible for trying to enforce this Security Council resolution. The Libyans must choose their own future."
After apparent confusion about whether the resolution could allow Col Gaddafi himself to be targeted, Mr Cameron told MPs the UN resolution was "limited in its scope, it explicitly does not provide legal authority for action to bring about Gaddafi's removal from power by military means".
Defence Secretary Liam Fox had suggested targeting the Libyan leader could "potentially be a possibility" but the head of the armed forces, Gen Sir David Richards said Col Gaddafi was "absolutely not" a target and that would not be allowed under the UN resolution.
'Different to Iraq'
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David Cameron: "A no-fly zone has effectively been put in place"
Amid questions from MPs about more active involvement from members of the Arab League, Mr Cameron said Qatar was producing jets to enforce the no-fly zone and more would be done to encourage other Arab states to come forward.
Labour veteran Dennis Skinner told the PM: "It is easy to get into a war, it is harder to end it, when will we know what the circumstances are for pulling out and ending the war?"
Mr Cameron told him: "This is different to Iraq. This is not going into a country, knocking over its government and then owning and being responsible for everything that happens subsequently. This is about protecting people and giving the Libyan people a chance to shape their own destiny."
Several MPs questioned why action was being taken in Libya, but not in Yemen or Bahrain, which have also been using violence to crack down on protests.
Labour leader Ed Miliband said he supported the action, saying it was "a just cause, with a feasible mission, and it has international support".
"We have seen with our own eyes what the Libya regime is capable of," he said.
Continue reading the main story The military have been categoric that Col Gaddafi would not be a target and would not be allowed to be a target under the resolution.
But government sources have said it would be within the resolution and within the law to target Col Gaddafi.
A difference there of interpretation and opinion.
And a position where the government's sources say the UK's most senior soldier was wrong that it was against the law to target Col Gaddafi if we thought that was the right thing to do.
"We have seen guns being used on unarmed demonstrators, we have watched warplanes and artillery being used against civilian population centres, we have learned of militia violence and disappearances in areas held by Gaddafi forces."
Ahead of the debate ministers published a note saying action was legal.
The note on the government's legal position sets out the basis for UN Resolution 1973 and says the UN Security Council had "determined that the situation in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya constitutes a threat to international peace and security" and aimed to restore it under Chapter Seven of the UN Charter.
On Thursday the UN authorised "all necessary measures", short of an occupying force, to protect Libyan civilians from attacks.
The motion tabled for debate in Parliament asks MPs to support the government's action "in accordance" with UN resolution 1973 and to "acknowledge the demonstrable need, regional support and clear legal basis for urgent action to protect the people of Libya".
The UK government does not require Parliament's approval to deploy troops. However, in practice, governments have involved MPs by scheduling debates, statements and - as with the 2003 Iraq invasion - sometimes substantive votes on proposals to do so.
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Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.Live coverage of the Commons debate about Libya: From Democracy Live
David Cameron has told MPs action in Libya has already helped avert a "bloody massacre" in Benghazi and had come "just in the nick of time".
The PM opened a debate on military action saying it was "necessary, legal and right" and inaction could have led to the "slaughter of civilians".
He said it would not be "another Iraq" - it was about protecting Libyans who would decide their own future.
The debate is expected to end with a vote at about 2200 GMT.
Mr Cameron said a no-fly zone "has effectively been put in place over Libya" - air strikes over the weekend followed the UN's decision to back military action to protect Libyan civilians as Col Muammar Gaddafi fights a rebellion that broke out last month.
RAF Typhoons were being sent to southern Italy - 25 minutes' flying time from the Libyan coast - to help patrol the no-fly zone, he said.
"It is also clear that coalition forces have helped to avert what could have been a bloody massacre in Benghazi. In my view they did so just in the nick of time," Mr Cameron said.
The prime minister said that if action had not been taken on Saturday Benghazi and Tobruk would probably have fallen.
"It's quite clear the population of Benghazi was under heavy attack. Civilians were being killed in significant numbers and an exodus from the town had begun. There was an urgent need to stop the slaughter."
While most MPs - including Labour leader Ed Miliband - expressed their support for the action, questions were raised about its scope and post-conflict planning.
Amid concerns from SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson about the "potential for mission creep", Mr Cameron said the UN resolution was about protecting civilians: "Many people will ask questions I'm sure today about regime change and Gaddafi and the rest of it.
"I've been clear, I think Libya needs to get rid of Gaddafi. But in the end we are responsible for trying to enforce this Security Council resolution. The Libyans must choose their own future."
After apparent confusion about whether the resolution could allow Col Gaddafi himself to be targeted, Mr Cameron told MPs the UN resolution was "limited in its scope, it explicitly does not provide legal authority for action to bring about Gaddafi's removal from power by military means".
Defence Secretary Liam Fox had suggested targeting the Libyan leader could "potentially be a possibility" but the head of the armed forces, Gen Sir David Richards said Col Gaddafi was "absolutely not" a target and that would not be allowed under the UN resolution.
'Different to Iraq'
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.David Cameron: "A no-fly zone has effectively been put in place"
Amid questions from MPs about more active involvement from members of the Arab League, Mr Cameron said Qatar was producing jets to enforce the no-fly zone and more would be done to encourage other Arab states to come forward.
Labour veteran Dennis Skinner told the PM: "It is easy to get into a war, it is harder to end it, when will we know what the circumstances are for pulling out and ending the war?"
Mr Cameron told him: "This is different to Iraq. This is not going into a country, knocking over its government and then owning and being responsible for everything that happens subsequently. This is about protecting people and giving the Libyan people a chance to shape their own destiny."
Several MPs questioned why action was being taken in Libya, but not in Yemen or Bahrain, which have also been using violence to crack down on protests.
Labour leader Ed Miliband said he supported the action, saying it was "a just cause, with a feasible mission, and it has international support".
"We have seen with our own eyes what the Libya regime is capable of," he said.
Continue reading the main story The military have been categoric that Col Gaddafi would not be a target and would not be allowed to be a target under the resolution.
But government sources have said it would be within the resolution and within the law to target Col Gaddafi.
A difference there of interpretation and opinion.
And a position where the government's sources say the UK's most senior soldier was wrong that it was against the law to target Col Gaddafi if we thought that was the right thing to do.
- Nick Robinson: How will Libya end (Part II)?
- In full: UK legal advice note
- Is Libya a cost Britain can bear?
"We have seen guns being used on unarmed demonstrators, we have watched warplanes and artillery being used against civilian population centres, we have learned of militia violence and disappearances in areas held by Gaddafi forces."
Ahead of the debate ministers published a note saying action was legal.
The note on the government's legal position sets out the basis for UN Resolution 1973 and says the UN Security Council had "determined that the situation in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya constitutes a threat to international peace and security" and aimed to restore it under Chapter Seven of the UN Charter.
On Thursday the UN authorised "all necessary measures", short of an occupying force, to protect Libyan civilians from attacks.
The motion tabled for debate in Parliament asks MPs to support the government's action "in accordance" with UN resolution 1973 and to "acknowledge the demonstrable need, regional support and clear legal basis for urgent action to protect the people of Libya".
The UK government does not require Parliament's approval to deploy troops. However, in practice, governments have involved MPs by scheduling debates, statements and - as with the 2003 Iraq invasion - sometimes substantive votes on proposals to do so.
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