David Cameron has chosen to call Islamic State (IS) by its Arabic acronym Daesh in an attempt to highlight the group’s lack of legitimacy.
The Prime Minister said the group, also known as Isil and Isis, was “neither a true representation of Islam nor is it a state”.
He said he would use the term Daesh after coming under pressure to drop the use of alternative names for the “evil death cult”.
The Prime Minister told the Commons he had received “strong representations“ from Tory Rehman Chishti and other MPs to change his terminology.
“I feel it is time to join our key ally France, the Arab League and other members of the international community in using, as frequently as possible, the terminology Daesh rather than Isil,” he said.
“Because frankly this evil death cult is neither a true representation of Islam nor is it a state.”
Despite his commitment to change his wording, Mr Cameron repeatedly referred to the organisation as Isil throughout his comments in the Commons.
The word Daesh, which is an Arabic name for the group, holds negative connotations, referring to “one who sows discord”, according to Mr Chishti.
The Tory MP said: “I am delighted that the Government will now be joining our key international allies in using the term Daesh to defeat this evil organisation’s propaganda, appeal and self-proclaimed legitimacy.
“The Prime Minister has listened to the strength of feeling across Parliament, with this campaign being supported by 170 MPs from across the political spectrum.
“This barbaric terrorist group is not Islamic nor is it a state and Daesh is a better term for it. I hope that media organisations will now follow the Government’s lead and also adopt the term.”