THE public need to be assured that the recent targeted drone strike against Reyaad Khan was legal, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have said.

Cardiff-born Khan was killed in a precision drone strike in Syria on 21st August, the first of its kind by UK military services.

The Liberal Democrats have called for the legal advice underpinning the strike to be published.

It is believed that such a strike would only be legal under international law if the threat to the UK was imminent.

Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Tom Brake MP has submitted an Urgent Question request to the House of Commons for the matter to be discussed.

Eluned Parrott AM, the Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales Central, said: “Having already grieved when their son left Cardiff to join ISIS, Reyaad Khan’s family are now mourning his death. My thoughts are very much with them and the wider community at this difficult time.

“Drones are a legal and legitimate tool of war, as long as they are used correctly and their use is underpinned by law. Unless that legal underpinning can be shown the public could justifiably suspect that this strike was ordered without due process being followed.

“Given that we’re still unravelling the consequences of the former Labour government’s illegal war in Iraq, we need to make sure this drone strike was legal. That’s why I’m glad that Lib Dem MPs have called for the legal advice given to the Prime Minister to be published.”

But defence secretary Michael Fallon has said the strike was a "perfectly legal act of self defence", saying the UK would not hesitate to launch more secret drone strikes in Syria to thwart potential terror plots.

He said the two British men killed had been planning attacks in the UK.