Assad regime and Russia must be held to account if they were behind Douma attack, says PM

Theresa May has said the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, and his Russian backers must be held to account if found responsible for the chemical attack that killed dozens of people



The prime minister did not rule out joining international military action against the Syrian regime, but refused to elaborate on the range of options that might be available to the government.

During a visit to Denmark, she condemned the “barbaric” targeting of innocent civilians, including children, in the attack which is the subject of a meeting of the UN security council in New York on Monday afternoon.

Standing alongside her Danish counterpart, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, May told reporters: “If they are found to be responsible, the regime and its backers, including Russia, must be held to account.”

Later in Stockholm, where she was meeting with prime minister Stefan Löfven, May said: “We are working urgently with our allies to asses what has happened. But, we are also working with our allies on any action that is necessary.”

Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, had earlier told his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, that “a full range of options should be on the table” for the international community in response to the attack. This is understood to include airstrikes against military targets.

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May has come under growing pressure in Britain to take action after the suspected poison gas attack on the rebel-held town of Douma in Syria which killed at least 42 people.

The prime minister did, however, toughen her criticism of the Russian government, saying Moscow’s repeated use of its veto at the UN had enabled international rules on chemical weapons to be broken and investigations hampered. “This must stop,” she said.

When asked whether she had a direct message for the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, she said the Kremlin should “look very carefully at the position they have taken”.

May said the attack was part of a “troubling” wider pattern of aggressive acts and that Britain had consistently given a “very clear message” to Syria about “brutal” strikes against its own people.



But when it came to concrete action she kept her options open. “This is a brutal regime that is attacking its own people and we are very clear that it must be held to account and its backers must be held to account too,” she said.

“What we are urgently doing with our allies is assessing what has taken place. Obviously, if this is a chemical weapons attack of the sort the initial reports suggest that it is, this is another example of the Assad regime’s brutality and the brazen way in which they have ignored the interests of their people.”

Britain has been locked in urgent talks with allies in Washington, Paris and at the UN before Monday’s meeting.

Johnson said in February that Britain should consider joining military action against the Assad regime if there is fresh “incontrovertible” evidence he has used chemical weapons against his own people.



However, following a sarin attack on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhun last April that left dozens dead, May dismissed as “hypothetical” his suggestion that the UK would have to join action in the case of further atrocities.

Earlier, Downing Street said the UK was working with its allies to come up with a rapid and unified response to the apparent chemical attack on Saturday in Douma.

A No 10 spokesman said Britain would consider “a range of options” if there was verified evidence of chemical weapons being used, but refused to speculate on what these might be.

No 10 also warned Russia, which backs the Assad regime, against seeking to obstruct the work of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons which has confirmed it has begun an investigation into the attack.

Government sources have expressed concern that if Britain were to take part in any action taken to punish Assad it would have to be approved by parliament.

David Cameron suffered a serious blow to his credibility when he lost a historic Commons vote in 2013 over launching airstrikes on the Assad regime to deter its use of chemical weapons, after the then Labour leader, Ed Miliband, refused to give his backing to the plan.

There is no legal requirement for the government to seek parliamentary approval before ordering military action but it has become convention to consult MPs.

Donald Trump told the Assad regime and its allies on Sunday that there would be a “big price to pay” after shocking footage showed victims, many of them young children, suffering from the attack.

Play Video 1:05 Aftermath of suspected chemical attack in rebel-held Douma in Syria - video

The US president demanded access be opened to Douma, the last of three besieged districts in the Ghouta area to remain under opposition control, to verify what had happened. He issued a statement along with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, vowing to “co-ordinate a strong, joint response”.

It came a year to the day since Trump ordered a US strike in which 59 missiles hit a Syrian airbase thought to be the origin of the attack on Khan Sheikhun. Since then, he has vowed to order another strike if chemical weapons were used again.

Israeli warplanes on Sunday bombed a Syrian regime airbase east of the city of Homs, Russian and Syrian military forces said.

Syria denied that a gas attack had taken place, while Moscow warned the west against taking “military action on fabricated pretexts” which could have dire consequences.

But at home, pressure was growing on May’s Conservative party for tough action against the regime. The defence minister, Tobias Ellwood, said the UK could not “keep turning a blind eye” to the “barbaric and illegal” horrors of the conflict.

Mark Field, the Foreign Office minister, told the BBC the UK could support the US and Nato allies “if there were to be further action” against Syria. “I don’t think we are going to be able to rely upon a United Nations security council resolution, which is almost unprecedented given the seriousness of what is being proposed here, simply because the Russians will veto such a thing standing behind their client state, Assad,” he added.

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The Tory MP Tom Tugendhat, chair of the foreign affairs select committee, said there was a legitimate case for using force, tweeting: “Standing by as kids are gassed isn’t pacifism, it’s tolerating evil.”

Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, said he condemned the use of chemical weapons in any scenario, but did not place the blame on Assad directly, instead calling for the UN to be able to access the area to investigate.

He added: “I call on all parties to cooperate urgently with the UN in conducting an inquiry into this so we can find out exactly who delivered the chemical weapon. The evidence is important and the use of international law is crucial to bring about a more peaceful world in the future.

“The tragedy and the terror of people’s lives in Syria can only end by a political solution. That means every country in the region, as well as Russia and the US, coming together to ensure there is a meaningful ceasefire, and there is a political process in bringing about a political solution to the conflict that has wasted so many lives in Syria.”