West must act now to stop chemical warfare – Hague

BRITAIN: Chemical weapons will become ‘‘legitimised’’ and used in future wars if the West fails to take military action against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-assad, former British foreign secretary William Hague says.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Hague said he was in ‘‘little doubt’’ that if he were still in office today, he would recommend military intervention in Syria.

Prime Minister Theresa May has suggested that Britain is prepared to join any action by the United States and France, warning that the Syrian government ‘‘must be held to account’’ for the ‘‘barbaric’’ chemical attack on eastern Ghouta on Sunday.

The Telegraph understands that Cabinet ministers are urging May to avoid the potential ‘‘fiasco’’ of a House of Commons defeat on military action, such as that suffered by David Cameron in 2013, and instead take direct measures. May has also been warned that failure to join a coalition between the US and France could diminish Britain’s international standing.

US President Donald Trump said yesterday he would make a decision on the American response to the chemical weapons attacks within the ‘‘next 24 to 48 hours’’.

Trump spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday and pledged a ‘‘strong, joint response’’.

Government sources said potential British action could involve cruise missiles being launched from the Mediterranean Sea or sorties flown by Tornado jets.

Hague was foreign secretary when the government lost its vote for action in Syria, which is widely considered to have emboldened the Assad regime. He said the UK became ‘‘enfeebled spectators of one of the most destructive conflagrations of our time’’.

‘‘We should have learnt from the fiasco of 2013 that abdication of the responsibility and right to act doesn’t make war go away,’’ Hague said.

‘‘The world has succeeded for nearly a century in preventing the use of chemical weapons on the battlefield. Once we accept that it is just another aspect of war, that is what it will become in the conflicts of coming decades, with an arms race in chemical agents steadily expanded and legitimised.’’