‘THE West is partly to blame’ for the crisis in the Middle East, an East Lancashire politician has claimed.

Hyndburn and Haslingden MP Graham Jones said he was worried about Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)’s financial clout, saying it has received ‘hundreds of millions of dollars from ransom, racketeering, extortion, and theft’.

He also warned against the consquences of sending ground troops in, but said ‘we cannot allow a barbaric state to emerge’.

He said he had received correspondence asking him to vote against military action but he felt 'no good could come of it'.

The MP does accept though that the proposed military air strikes in Iraq only served as a policy of partial containment. And mistakes had been made in trying to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Mr Jones added: “Isolating the barbaric al-Assad and believing that arming uncontrollable local forces was an answer has, in part, led to ISIL.”

He also believes while it would be ‘foolish to put a Western ground force in’, he foresees a ground war in the region eventually.