Syria poll rejects PM's 'safe' claim

David Cameron may have won over enough Labour MPs to win a vote for airstrikes in Syria, but his justification that it would keep the UK "safe" has been dismissed in a new poll.

More than half of the 18,000 votes cast in AOL UK's Homepage poll believed the military action against IS would increase the likelihood of terror attacks in Britain, with just 4% supporting the PM's view.

Four RAF Tornado jets, which carry a range of munitions including Paveway IV guided bombs and precision-guided Brimstone missiles, took off from the Akrotiri base in Cyprus within hours of Wednesday's vote.

Mr Cameron has said MPs took the "right decision to keep the UK safe" after they backed air strikes in Syria by 397 to 223. Some 66 Labour MPs voted with the Government.

But in the AOL UK poll, when asked 'Is a terror attack on UK soil more or less likely now that the UK is bombing IS in Syria?', 54% answered 'More likely' with only 4% saying 'Less likely'. Some 40% believed it made no difference to the threat of a terror attack.

The poll ran on the AOL UK Homepage for 24 hours from Thursday morning.