Syria news: Theresa May warns Assad of further military strikes if chemical weapons used again

The prime minister sent a message to Moscow saying that it must now 'take seriously' its role as a member of the UN Security Council

Theresa May has warned that the West has the resolve to take further military action if chemical weapons are used again in the Syrian civil war.

The Prime Minister said the regime of Bashar al-Assad should be “under no doubt” that additional strikes would come if it tried to deploy the toxic weapons in the future.

She spoke from Downing Street following limited action by US, UK and French forces overnight, with RAF jets targeting a chemical weapons base near Homs.

Ms May said the action had now created the space for diplomatic pressure to prevent the future use of chemical weapons and went on to send a message to Moscow, that it must now “take seriously” its role as UN Security Council member.

But as the prime minister promised a statement to Parliament on Monday, questions were still being asked in the UK as to why she refused to give MPs a vote on whether to push ahead with the operation.

She also indicated that little extra planning had been done to account for any increased refugee movement due to the action.

With pictures of the operation starting to emerge, Ms May called a press conference at Number 10 where she blamed the Assad regime for the Douma attack a week ago which left between 40 and 70 people dead and injured hundreds more.

Officials said operations had ended for now, but asked if further strikes would follow if chemical weapons were used again, Ms May did not deny the suggestion.

Instead she said while answering questions from journalists: “The purpose of the action that took place last night was to degrade and deter the capability of the Syrian regime to use chemical weapons.

 The Syrian regime should be under no doubt of our resolve in relation to this matter of the use of chemical weapons

Prime Minister Theresa May

“A full assessment has not yet been conducted, but we believe that the action has been successful.

“But the Syrian regime should be under no doubt of our resolve in relation to this matter of the use of chemical weapons.”

It was before 8pm on Friday night that Ms May, who was staying at her Chequers country retreat, finalised the decision to send RAF jets into action.

The UK’s role involved four Tornado fighters launching Storm Shadow missiles at a military facility some 15 miles west of Homs.

Intelligence assessments suggested the Assad regime was keeping chemical weapons at the site, which Ms May said was a breach of Syria’s obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention.

The US part of the operation used twice as much weaponry as the attack Washington launched unilaterally last year, with missiles and planes involved hitting research sites.

France also targeted alleged chemical weapons facilities, after President Emmanuel Macron said the country had proof the Assad regime was involved in Douma.

The Syrian regime said it had successfully repelled the attacks, meanwhile Ms May herself indicated that Russian authorities were given prior notice of the strikes to avoid the country’s personnel or assets stationed in the Middle East being damaged.

Citing the Salisbury poisoning, Ms May said the operation should also deter any international actor from using chemical weapons.

In a direct message to the Kremlin, which she accused of blocking attempts to prevent and investigate the use of chemical weapons at the UN, she said: “Permanent membership of the Security Council is given only to a limited number of countries.

“I think it’s important that those who sit around that Security Council table take seriously the responsibility they have to the wider international community for decisions that are taken.”

She indicated that there would now be a renewed diplomatic push to try and secure greater assurances that toxic weapons would not be used and would be destroyed – something she said Syria and Russia had promised a year ago.

But domestic pressure is likely to increase on the prime minister for her decision to refuse MPs a vote ahead of the action, her failure to say they would be given a retrospective vote, or indeed that they will have a vote on any further action.

Instead she highlighted that the decision to launch military action does not require parliamentary approval in British convention, saying: “The decision was taken because I believe it was the right thing to do. The power to take this decision is obviously a prerogative power.

“And at the first opportunity, Parliament will have an opportunity to question this, and I will be in Parliament on Monday in order to do so.”

Asked by The Independent what additional planning had been done for any increase in the refugee crisis on the back of the action and potential further strikes, she said little more than that the UK has always focussed on addressing the needs of refugees in neighbouring countries and argued that the strikes would prevent human suffering.

When she does arrive in the Commons next week, she will also face intense questioning over the legal basis for the action, which officials are due to publish, and over the UK’s broader strategy.

Her statement on Monday is likely to be modelled on one David Cameron gave in the wake of drone strikes in Syria in 2015, which set out the legal basis and process for action taking account for obligations cemented in the wake of the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq War.