David Cameron is facing legal action over his decision to use drone strikes to kill British terrorists in Syria despite the lack of parliamentary approval for military action.The prime minister revealed this month that a missile fired by an RAF pilotless aircraft had blown up a car containing two Britons near the city of Raqqa, the headquarters of the Isis terror group.
Mr Cameron described the action as an “act of self-defence”, telling MPs that Reyaad Khan, one of the two, had been deeply involved in plotting “barbaric” attacks on the streets of Britain, and that there had been no other way to stop him.
Caroline Lucas, the MP for Brighton, and Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb, both members of the Green party, have joined forces with Reprieve, a human rights charity, to take the first step towards a judicial review.
In a letter to the defence secretary and attorney-general, lawyers for the politicians argue that the government has either failed to formulate a “targeted killing policy” or failed to publish it. Both positions are illegal under domestic and international law, the letter says.