UK submarines move within missile range of Syria as Theresa May convenes 'war cabinet' and prepares to brush aside MPs’ demands for a vote before joining military action on Assad
- Comes as Donald Trump signalled US was ready to launch strikes against Syria
- Theresa May has called senior ministers to gather in Downing Street tomorrow
- The PM has said Britain will co-ordinate its response with the US and France
Theresa May was poised last night to defy calls for a Commons vote on military action in Syria
Theresa May was poised last night to defy calls for a Commons vote on military action in Syria.
The Prime Minister summoned ministers back to London to seek their support for joining an American-led attack on the Assad regime within days.
Clearing the way for action, she declared the use of chemical weapons could not go unchallenged and said ‘all the indications’ suggested that Bashar Assad’s forces were responsible for Saturday’s atrocity near Damascus.
Military chiefs are said to have ordered British submarines armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles to move within range of Syria.
Despite fears of a military confrontation with Russia, no preparations are being made to recall MPs from their Easter recess. It is understood No 10 believes it can launch a one-off, punitive strike without consulting Parliament.
Donald Trump dramatically escalated the crisis yesterday by telling Russia to ‘get ready’ because ‘nice and new and smart’ cruise missiles would be coming.
He warned Vladimir Putin not to stand by President Assad, who he described as a ‘gas killing animal’.
The U.S. has maintained its threat of rocket attacks in response to Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad's sickening chemical attack on the rebel-held town of Douma on Saturday
General Sir Richard Barrons, a former commander of Joint Forces Command, said Russia's warnings that launch platforms could be targeted in response to air strikes meant 'they are going to try and sink ships, sink submarines and shoot aircraft out of the sky - that's war'
Mrs May has said Britain will co-ordinate its response to the incident in the rebel-held town of Douma - where at least 40 people are reported to have been killed - with the US and France
Russia’s ambassador to Lebanon had said his country was ready to target US planes and ships if they fired at Syrian regime forces. That would effectively lead to a state of war, according to Sir Richard Barrons, a senior former military commander.
And Julian Lewis, who chairs the Commons defence committee, was among MPs to warn of the risks of intervention. ‘Embroiling ourselves in a military clash with Russia in the context of a civil war between an inhumane government and opposition controlled by jihadi fanatics is not a sensible one, to put it mildly,’ he said.
In other developments:
- British troops stationed at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus were waiting for the order to fire cruise missiles;
- A US naval strike force including an aircraft carrier headed to the Gulf;
- The Syrian military started repositioning air units and Russian troops moved toward Douma, the location at least 40 people are thought to have died in the gas attack;
- Aviation officials warned airlines of the risk of flying near Syria;
- MPs warned US and British involvement could ‘escalate very quickly into a shooting war’.
British officials were said to be in talks with their counterparts in France and the US about which military assets should be deployed for military action.
‘We are committed to deter and prevent the use of chemical weapons,’ said a government source.
‘We now have to establish the best way of getting there, and those conversations are carrying on, officials are speaking to their counterparts in France and America right now. In terms of precisely what happens next, that is still to be confirmed.’
The PM will hold a Cabinet meeting this afternoon. Ministers were understood to be privately urging her to act, although is not clear whether the British public would support an expansion of military action in Syria.
Brexit Secretary David Davis voted against military action against the Assad regime in 2013.
Speaking on a visit to Birmingham yesterday, Mrs May said: ‘The continued use of chemical weapons cannot go unchallenged.’
Asked whether she was concerned by Mr Trump’s tweet, she replied: ‘We are working with our allies, we have been working to get an understanding of what happened on the ground. We are rapidly reaching that understanding. All the indications are that the Syrian regime was responsible.
‘We will be working with our closest allies on how we can ensure that those who are responsible are held to account and how we can prevent and deter the humanitarian catastrophe that comes from the use of chemical weapons in the future.’
Tory MP Mr Lewis insisted there should be a vote before the UK took action. ‘There is a real danger that what starts out as justified punishment for the use of chemical weapons ends up with the Royal Air Force serving as the air arm of the jihadi extremist rebels in Syria,’ he said.
‘It sends a very bad signal to the country that they don’t submit themselves to parliamentary scrutiny before involving in taking military action by choice in the context of a civil war where both sides equally atrocious.’
Tory colleague Bob Seely said: ‘Trump is declaring war on Twitter. Both Trump and Putin need to remember what the stakes are.
‘This crisis could escalate very quickly into a shooting war in Syria. If Russians are injured, the Kremlin will hit back. The most important thing our generation can achieve is to avoid actual conflict with Russia.
‘If we are reckless or thoughtless in our actions, it will make conflict now or in future more likely to happen.’
Russia’s ambassador to Lebanon, Alexander Zasypkin, said any US missiles fired at Syria would be shot down along with the ships or planes that fired them.
He told Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV: ‘If there is a strike by the Americans then ... the missiles will be downed and even the sources from which the missiles were fired.’
Then, in the early hours of yesterday morning, Mr Trump responded on Twitter, saying: ‘Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and smart! You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it.’
In a further tweet 40 minutes later, he said: ‘Our relationship with Russia is worse now that it has ever been, and that includes the Cold War.
‘There is no reason for this. Russia needs us to help with their economy.’
Russia’s foreign ministry spokesman responded by saying ‘smart missiles should fly towards terrorists, not lawful government’.
General Barrons, who led the UK’s joint forces command until 2016, said of the Russian ambassador’s warning: ‘He is saying not only are they going to shoot down the missiles in flight, but by saying launch sites, he is saying they are going to try and sink ships, sink submarines and shoot aircraft out of the sky. That’s war.’
Charles Crawford, former British Ambassador to Bosnia, warned the range of options for dealing with the crisis varied between ‘terrible and catastrophic’.
Don't attack without a vote, MPs from all parties urge May
MPs from across Parliament last night urged Theresa May to change her mind as she prepared to launch military action against Bashar al-Assad without a Commons vote.
Cabinet sources said there was now a ‘broad view’ in Downing Street that the Prime Minister does not need to seek the approval of MPs before launching strikes.
Some senior Tories yesterday joined Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the SNP in demanding MPs are given a say, as they warned of the dangers of how the crisis could escalate.Since the Iraq War a precedent has been set that all military action abroad is first approved by Parliament, but sources last night told the Mail that no preparations have been made for MPs to return to Westminster before Monday when their Easter recess ends.
When asked if she would recall parliament yesterday, Mrs May declined to answer the question directly. Tory MP Sir David Amess said the Prime Minister needed to come to the Commons before retaliating against Assad following the chemical weapons attack in Syria.
He said: ‘I think we have to look at this situation very, very carefully because since I have been in Parliament we have been involved in conflicts in Iraq and in Afghanistan. Neither with terribly good outcomes.’
The US military appeared to be in position to carry out any attack order this morning with a Navy destroyer – armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles – underway in the eastern Mediterranean
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