Syrian leader will be ‘held to account’
● Trump clears way for airstrikes to prevent further chemical attacks
Syrian ruler Bashar al-assad was put on notice that he will be “held to account” by the West if it was confirmed that his regime carried out a horrific chemical weapons attack on his own people.
Theresa May promised President Donald Trump that Britain would work closely with the US to prevent a repeat of the alleged poison gas assault which left dozens dead in the rebel-held town of Douma. But she is facing pressure over whether to authorise UK involvement without receiving explicit backing of parliament.
Theresa May put Syrian ruler Bashar al-assad on notice that he will be “held to account” by the West if it was confirmed that his regime carried out an horrific chemical weapons attack on his own people.
As Donald Trump cleared the way for airstrikes on Syria, she promised the President that Britain would work closely with the United States to prevent a repeat of the alleged poison gas assault which left dozens dead in the rebel-held town of Douma.
But she is facing conflicting pressure over whether to authorise British involvement without receiving the explicit backing of Parliament, which is currently in recess.
The former attorney general Dominic Grieve said: “In view of the enormity of what has been done, if there is a way of preventing its recurrence by the limited use of force that is one thing and I would be supportive.”
But Julian Lewis, the chairman of the defence select committee, said: “When we are contemplating military intervention in other people’s conflicts. Parliament ought to be consulted first. In Syria, neither side deserves our support: the choice there is ‘monsters or maniacs’.”
CNN quoted a US official as saying that the US government is most likely to coordinate with France on a response to the poison attack because of concerns Mrs May would not receive approval from MPS for strikes.
On a day dominated by the Syrian crisis, she held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron who has made clear his support for rapid action by calling for a “forceful” response to the atrocity.
She also chaired a meeting of her “war Cabinet”, the National Security Council, which includes senior ministers, military chiefs and intelligence experts.
In interviews yesterday, the Prime Minister refused to be drawn on whether Britain would join airstrikes against the Syrian government’s military installations.
The white house announced that Mr Trump had cancelled a planned visit to South America to “oversee the American response to Syria and monitor developments around the world”. Although he has indicated that American bombers could go into action within days, the US is also keen not to act unilaterally.
Following Mrs May’s talks with the US and French leaders, a Downing Street spokesman said: “They agreed that reports of a chemical weapons attack in Syria were utterly reprehensible and if confirmed, represented further evidence of the Assad regime’s appalling cruelty against its own people and total disregard for its legal obligations not to use these weapons.
“They agreed that the international community needed to respond.”