Britain and its Western allies overcame fierce Russian opposition on Wednesday to give the world’s chemical weapons watchdog new powers to place blame for chemical attacks.

Until now the Organisation for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has been able to investigate the technical details of an attack but could not point the finger at the parties responsible.

But after a diplomatic showdown at a special OPCW conference in the Hague, the UK rallied enough votes to strengthen the agency’s mandate and from now on it can attribute responsibility. The British motion passed 82-24.

“Chemical weapons are an affront to human dignity and have no place in the 21st century. The international community has quite rightly come together today to strengthen the ban on chemical weapons and prevent impunity for their use,” said Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary.

“The UK has led the diplomatic efforts to secure this action. We look forward to working with all countries who are members of the Chemical Weapons Convention to implement the decisions taken today, and we will continue to push back on any efforts to undermine the ban on these vile weapons.”