Access to weapons site essential – UK

DIPLOMATIC tensions between the UK and Russia deepened amid claims that Moscow was blocking investigators from reaching the site of a chemical weapons attack in Syria.

The UK said it was “essential” that the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was granted “unfettered access” to Douma.

Russia strongly denied interfering with the work of inspectors attempting to reach the site of the atrocity which the UK and Western allies have said was perpetrated by the regime of Moscow’s ally Bashar Assad.

The latest row between the UK and Russia came as Theresa May faced MPs over her decision to launch air strikes against Syria as Labour questioned the legality of the bombing raid.

The UK’s representative at the OPCW, Peter Wilson, said: “It is imperative that the Syrian Arab Republic and the Russian Federation offer the OPCW fact-finding mission team their full co-operation and assistance to carry out their difficult task.”

He dismissed as “ludicrous” a Russian claim that the UK had helped stage the attack in Douma, which killed up to 75 people, including a number of children.

He said: “Russia has argued that the attack on Douma was somehow staged, or faked.

“They have even suggested that the UK was behind the attack. That is ludicrous.”

He said Moscow was “spreading conspiracy theories and misinformation” to undermine the integrity of the OPCW’s fact-finding mission to Syria.

Relations between Russia and the UK have been plunged into the deep freeze following the nerve agent attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury. The UK’s claims about interference with the OPCW’s work in Syria were dismissed by Moscow.

“Russia confirms its adherence to the provision of security for the mission and does not plan to interfere with its work”, the country’s representative at the OPCW said according to Russian news agency Tass.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister was faced with anger in the Commons yesterday after launching military action without securing the support of Parliament.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson insisted the strikes – co-ordinated with action by the United States and France – were “right for the UK and right for the world”.