BRITAIN was right to launch a bombing campaign against extremist groups in Syria, a former MP has claimed.

Braintree’s last MP Brooks Newmark was dubbed ‘Brooks of Damascus’ during his time in office because of his visits to the war-torn country.

Even as a Treasury minister, Mr Newmark had a keen interest in foreign affairs and became close to rebel groups fighting President Assad.

In an exclusive interview with the Times, Mr Newmark said he remained in contact with those groups and visited leaders in Turkey last month.

He said: “I was in Istanbul a weeks ago and I met with the 12 largest groups who are opposing Assad.

“The Free Syrian Army are ordinary people who have had to take up arms to defend themselves.

“People have talked about this ‘phantom force’ of 75,000 fighters but if they don’t exist who has been holding Assad to account for the last two-and-a-half years?

“They defended themselves, they defended their local communities. Then Assad had to bring in (Russian president Vladimir) Putin and they still hold him to a standstill.”

Mr Newmark is passionate about the region and said although Islamic State is a threat to the UK, most Syrians see Bashar Assad as the main problem.

He said: “We are doing the right thing but what we shouldn’t do is do a deal with the devil. We have to do something to tackle IS but Assad is the problem and IS is the symptom.

“Somehow the Russians need to be in the mix. Putin is the one who’s going to have to tell Assad his number is up.”

Gazette:

Mr Newmark said David Cameron was right to commit to bringing 20,000 refugees into the country in the next five years but the process should be “accelerated”.

He said: “I think it’s important that we are compassionate with refugees but it’s very expensive.

“It’s much more cost effective to place people close to where they live so hopefully when there is peace they can go back.”

Mr Newmark has also visited Umubano Primary School in Rwanda, which he funded and set up in 2010.

He said: “We are just finishing our third year and I think we will be full to the 300-pupil capacity by next year.

“It’s nice to be able to do something like that in a country that experienced a terrible genocide just 20 years ago.

“Helping to rebuild that country all starts with education.”

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‘I’m finding my feet after leaving Parliament’

BROOKS Newmark says charity work and research has helped him find perspective on life after Westminster.

Mr Newmark, Braintree’s MP from 2005 until 2015, had to face up to life without politics when he quit in May, following revelations of an extra-marital affair in a Sunday newspaper.

But the former Harvard graduate and investment banker says working in a soup kitchen and writing a report on homelessness has helped get him back on track.

The 57-year-old, who takes responsibility for his actions but says they were triggered by a breakdown, said: “I have always wanted to do good things in life.

“I had ten years in politics.

I finished earlier than I expected or wanted to, but I felt that was the right action at that time, particularly for my family.

“Having a platform as an MP enabled me to do some good things.

“But the absence of that shouldn’t mean you can’t do these things. It just means you have to do it in a different way.

“It’s given me the time to look into these issues of homelessness.”

Mr Newmark volunteers in a soup kitchen in Lincoln’s Inn Fields in London every Sunday, and he will be working at one of homeless charity Crisis’ ten centres in the capital over Christmas.

He said: “I think doing good for other people does help recovery.

“Sometimes people can get very wrapped up in themselves and their own lives and it’s very helpful to see what’s actually going on around you.

“There are many people much worse off than yourself.”

Mr Newmark is working with Crisis on a report about the scale of the UK’s homelessness problem, which he calls “a blight on our society”.

He said: “A lot of these people want to work but the system doesn’t seem to enable them.

“A lot of it comes down to housing. If you have an address you can then get a job.

“I am looking at the Finnish model. In Finland there is virtually no homelessness because they find everybody a home.”

Gazette:

As a member of Oxford University’s politics faculty as he writes a paper on the International Commission on Missing Persons, Mr Newmark is not totally detached from his former life.

He said: “It’s quite nice and I’m still finding my feet.

“I’m riding a bicycle again for the first time in 38 years because it’s the only way to get around there.

“It’s just nice to be in an academic environment, I’m enjoying that.”

Despite his wide-ranging interests, Mr Newmark still lives in Bradwell and has a lot of time for local issues.

He said: “I’m still trying to support the local football club.

“When they played Oxford I went to the match and sat with our fans.

“They need a new ground and I’m hoping that the council will do as much as they can do to help Braintree Town Football Club.

“I want to remain very much part of the community and help out with whatever causes people have.”