Michael Fallon: We're paying the price for Syria inaction

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has said the UK is paying the price for not acting sooner in Syria.

Appearing on Good Morning Britain on Thursday, Mr Fallon was questioned on why peacekeeping troops were being sent to South Sudan instead of helping the aid effort in Syria.

He told the programme: "We're trying to get the civil war in Syria stopped.

"It's a very good example of, perhaps we should have intervened much earlier in Syria. There's a cost - a price you pay if you don't intervene and put troops or peacekeepers in much earlier in some of these countries.

"We are now trying to get a political settlement. There were meetings again in London yesterday, but the problem is the regime that's bombing civilians, bombing hospitals, using chemical weapons - that regime is still backed by Russia and there's been no effort by Russia to actually bring the civil war to a haul.

"We've put money aside, we've had countries around the world pledging money to reconstruct Syria, but we can't spend that money and get people in until the civil war is brought to an end."