The British government has joined with the American and French militaries to strike targets in Assad’s Syria following an alleged chemical weapons attack in the country.

“These are not the actions of a man. They are crimes of a monster instead,” President Trump said in an address from the White House late on Friday evening.

“The purpose of our actions tonight is to establish a strong deterrent against the production, spread and use of chemical weapons,” he wrote. “Establishing this deterrent is a vital interest of the United States.”

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Our track record of intervening in Syria and the Middle East is terrible. — Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) April 14, 2018

The full statement by Number 10 Downing Street follows: