MISSILES AT THE READY

May gets green light from Cabinet Ken Clarke demands MPs’ debate Warship moves in to curb threat

THERESA May last night won Cabinet sup- port for military action in Syria as Britain bolstered its defences against possible Russian retaliation.

After a two-and-a-half hour emergency meeting, ministers agreed it was ‘highly likely’ that Bashar al-Assad’s regime was behind last weekend’s chemical attack in Douma.

With Britain on the brink of joining a US-led strike, all 24 ministers present agreed on the ‘need to take action’ and said the use of chemical weapons ‘could not go unchallenged’. Amid fears Russia could retaliate against Western forces in the region, defence chiefs strengthened defences around the RAF base in Akrotiri, Cyprus.

However, the political row over the decision to proceed without a parliamentary vote escalated as Ken Clarke, the Father of the House, demanded that MPs be consulted. At present, there are no

plans to recall MPs from recess to debate the crisis. As British forces waited for the green light:

Russia’s UN ambassador said the ‘immediate priority’ was ‘to avert the danger’ of all-out war in Syria, adding that he hoped the situation would not reach the ‘point of no return’;

James Mattis, the US defence secretary, said his main concern about a military response was how to stop it ‘escalating out of control’;

US officials said they had obtained urine and blood samples from victims of the chemical attack and confirmed the presence of chlorine and a nerve agent;

The US was believed to be amassing the largest air and naval strike force since the Iraq war in 2003;

Reports from inside Syria suggested the government had started moving its military aircraft to Russian bases on the Mediterranean coast, in anticipation of US strikes;

French president Emmanuel Macron said his country had proof the Syrian government carried out the attack, which aid groups have said killed dozens of people.

Syria’s regime declared victory in the rebel-held town of Douma as fighters surrendered their weapons

‘She went round the table’

to Russian military police in extraordinary scenes.

The Mail can reveal that a Royal Navy Type 45 Destroyer HMS Duncan was given a ‘warning order’ to move south-east of Cyprus to take up station as an ‘air defence’ ship against any threat from Moscow.

Meanwhile, Tornado fighter jets stationed at RAF Marham in Norfolk were put on notice to move to the region to provide extra firepower.

UK officials were last night waiting for the outcome of a meeting of Donald Trump’s National Security Council in Washington. The meeting, chaired by the US President, was expected to take the final decision about exactly when and how to strike. Action is expected within days.

The White House is said to have provisionally selected eight targets in Syria – including two airfields, a research facility and a chemical weapons facility.

Mrs May was expected to finalise plans in late-night talks with Mr Trump and Mr Macron last night.

The Prime Minister told the Cabinet that last Saturday’s attack in Douma was a ‘shocking and barbaric attack’, which killed up to 75 people, including children, ‘in the most appalling and inhuman way’. Ministers agreed with her that the Assad regime ‘has a track record of the use of chemical weapons and it is highly likely that the regime is responsible for Saturday’s attack’, according to No 10.

The Prime Minister said it was a further example of the erosion of international law in relation to the use of chemical weapons, saying it was ‘deeply concerning to us all’.