Ulrike Franke appears on Sky News debate about drones and national security

Ulrike Franke appeared on a debate for Sky News (11 May) entitled 'Are Drones Vital For Security?'

She made that point that drones are very good at gathering intelligence, as they can loiter over a target for a long time. Their strikes can be very precise. She also added that the way drones are being used by the UK in Iraq and Syria at the moment makes sense.

Her main point, however, was that there is a problem with democratic accountability: in August 2015 the British government decided to carry out a drone strike in Syria even though it did not have the parliamentary approval to do so - in fact, parliament had specifically told the government that it was only allowed to fly drones over Syria for surveillance and that it had to consult with parliament before carrying out strikes.

You can find out much more about drones and Ulrike's research by following her on Twitter: @RikeFranke