Osborne rules out second vote over strikes on Syria if Assad regime carries out further chemical attacks



Chancellor says vote ruled out intervention for the foreseeable future

Downing Street maintain that David Cameron maintains his stance that Britain cannot be involved

Senior Tories urge PM not to turn his back on intervention

Britain will not launch military strikes against Syria, even if the regime carries out further nerve gas attacks on its own people, ministers said yesterday.

George Osborne and William Hague rejected growing calls for a second Commons vote.

They said last week’s vote had ruled out British military intervention in the crisis for the foreseeable future.

'Parliament has spoken': George Osborne has ruled out intervention in Syria even if the regime carries out further chemical attacks against its own people

The Chancellor told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that David Cameron would not call another Commons vote on the issue – even if tyrant Bashar al-Assad stepped up his use of banned chemical weapons.

Asked about how the Government would respond to a worsening situation in Syria, he replied: ‘Look, I think Parliament has spoken.’

William Hague said he didn't believe it was realistic to go back to Parliament each week and keep asking the same question

Mr Osborne, a leading supporter of military strikes, added: ‘The Conservative MPs and the Liberal Democrats who couldn’t support us have a deep scepticism about military involvement and I don’t think another UN report or whatever would make the difference.’

Mr Hague also said he could see no ‘immediate possibility’ of circumstances changing enough to secure support from Parliament, although he was less categoric than Mr Osborne.

The Foreign Secretary told Sky News: ‘I don’t think it’s realistic to think that we can go back to Parliament every week with the same question having received no for an answer.’

Mr Hague said there was already a ‘great deal of evidence’ of Assad’s use of chemical weapons, and questioned whether further evidence would change the result given Labour’s ‘partisan’ stance.

Downing Street sources also indicated that the Prime Minister stood by his snap judgment last week that Britain could not now join military action against Syria.

But other senior figures urged Mr Cameron not to turn his back on the idea of British involvement.

Former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind said Barack Obama’s decision to delay an assault on Syria to allow Congress to have its say left a window of opportunity for Mr Cameron to bring the issue back to the Commons, and for Mr Miliband to reconsider his stance.



Encouragement: Lord Howard, left and Sir Malcolm Rifkind have urged David Cameron not to turn his back on the idea of military intervention



He said: ‘Ed Miliband said he and his party were not necessarily opposed to military action. If he meant what he said then there is at least another week for him to look at the new intelligence being put out by the US.’

Former Tory leader Lord Howard also called for another vote to be held in the light of ‘overwhelming evidence’ of the Assad regime’s guilt.

He said: ‘I hope the Government will give Parliament an opportunity to think again and to come to a different conclusion.’ Meanwhile Sir Christopher Meyer, former British ambassador to the US, said President Obama’s decision to follow Mr Cameron’s lead by consulting Congress showed that the Special Relationship with the US would survive.

He added: ‘What’s emerging... is how much he was influenced by David Cameron’s defeat in the House of Commons and this gave him real pause.’