A SOUTH Essex MP has backed Theresa May’s vows to end “questionable” overseas conflicts.

John Baron, Tory MP for Basildon and Billericay, welcomed Mrs May’s speech made in Philadelphia, where she insisted there must be “no return to the failed policies of the past.”

Mr Baron, who resigned from a shadow cabinet position in 2003 over Britain’s invasion of Iraq, has also opposed action in Helmand, Libya and Syria.

The former army captain welcomed the Prime Minister’s promise to end “the days of Britain and America intervening in sovereign countries in an attempt to remake the world in our own image.”

He said: “My 15 years in Parliament have, in large part, been defined by my opposition to our misguided interventions in Iraq, Helmand, Libya and Syria.

“I therefore welcome the recognition that we should no longer attempt to remake the world in our own image - this has been a painful and costly policy, which has tended to distract us from greater dangers.”

“We need to mend our foreign policy process which suffers from lack of investment, expertise and therefore credibility.

“We need to rekindle our pragmatism, re-assess our priorities and be better informed.”