This week, the Commons Defence Select Committee found that Britain had carried out just 6 per cent of coalition air strikes against IS, and accused the government of not setting out a sufficiently detailed strategy to tackle the extremist group.

With horrific videos circulating of one of IS's latest atrocities—the burning alive of a captive Jordanian pilot—opponents around the world have been reminded of the local and international danger IS pose. But is further military action from Britain the right solution?

Yes—IS is a profound threat

IS now controls a territory larger than the UK, it is a profound threat to the stability of the Middle East and—through its almost 20,000 foreign fighters—a base for international terrorism. The UK should not deploy combat troops, but it could do much more.

We should immediately deploy more experts to Baghdad, to study the enemy, the environment and our allies, and pinpoint where our help is most needed. We must shape a coalition strategy, not just to drive IS out of Western Iraq but to ensure that it does not simply re-emerge later. This will require the Baghdad government to reach-out to Sunni communities, rein in the militia, secure its borders with Syria, and develop a constructive relationship with countries from Saudi Arabia to Iran.

The UK needs to be brutally honest about how difficult it will be even to contain the current situation. But we must send people to Baghdad to work relentlessly and energetically to increase the chances of that political settlement and decrease the chances of an ever-spreading horror. Rory Stewart, Conservative MP and Chair of the Defence Select Committee

No—the public won't support it

The recommendation of the defence select committee that the UK can and should do more to combat IS in Iraq should be treated with care. The British public demonstrated their vehement opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and even more so now will not stand for further military involvement.

The bottom line is that as we saw with the disastrous interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan there was no clear policy and no clear end game, today's situation is just the same. The events unfolding in the region today are a part of an incredibly complex and rapidly evolving web of religious, socio political and geopolitical tensions. Ramping up western military involvement will not help civilians on the ground nor make the streets of western capitals safer.

As I have said previously, we should instead concentrate our efforts on offering effective support to the regional powers in shaping diplomatic and humanitarian solutions to the events on the ground. Diane Abbott, Labour MP for Hackney