UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) bosses warned Prime Minister David Cameron against claiming there are 70,000 moderate Syrian rebels ready to fight Daesh, fearing the assertion would echo Tony Blair’s Iraq “dodgy dossier,” The Times reported.

The revelation comes after the House of Commons voted to extend airstrikes from Iraq into Syria, with the first bombs falling hours later.

According to the Times newspaper, military figures also feared Cameron’s claim of such a rebel force may lead MPs to wrongly believe there was a ready-made army on the ground in Syria, therefore influencing the vote.

“The concern was … [that the 70,000 figure] will become the one thing that everyone latches on to, like the 45 minutes claim.”

Some of the most vocal critics of Cameron’s claim were among his own party.

Sources: MENA