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Labour Deputy leader Tom Watson has backed US missile strikes on Syria.

Mr Watson, Labour MP for West Bromwich East, said the strikes ordered by US President Donald Trump "appear to be a direct and proportionate response" to the Syrian regime's use of chemical weapons.

And he said: "Indiscriminate chemical weapons attacks on civilians can never be tolerated and must have consequences".

He was speaking after Mr Trump announced that he ordered a cruise missile strike on a Syrian air base believed to be used to launch a devastating chemical attack on a Syrian town.

(Image: Seaman Ford Williams/US Navy/PA Wire)

The surprise barrage of 59 cruise missiles in the early hours of Friday, UK time, was the first direct US attack on the Syrian government.

It follows an air raid on the town of Khan Sheikhoun in Western Syria on Tuesday, when a toxic gas appears to have been used - killing at least 72 people, including 20 children.

The Syrian regime agreed to the destruction of its chemical weapons in 2013, but the attack appears to show it has not kept its word.

And Mr Trump said there could be "no dispute" Syrian President Bashar Assad was to blame for a chemical weapons assault.

Speaking to the Birmingham Mail, Mr Watson said: "These US strikes appear to be a direct and proportionate response to a clear violation of international law by the Syrian regime.

"It's clear from the nerve gas attack in Khan Sheikhoun earlier this week that President Assad had retained a chemical weapons capability, contrary to what was agreed in 2013.

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"Indiscriminate chemical weapons attacks on civilians can never be tolerated and must have consequences.

"It's vital that the United States is now clear about its intentions and that the whole international community works towards a political settlement in Syria."

(Image: AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Other West Midlands MPs also backed the action.

Former Cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell, MP for Sutton Coldfield and co-chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on Syria, said: "The strike is decisive, proportionate and right.

"I strongly welcome America standing up for international humanitarian law."

The British government has offered its full support to Mr Trump.

On Friday morning, a No 10 spokeswoman said: "Overnight, the US has taken military action against the Syrian regime, targeting the airfield in Shayrat which was used to launch the chemical weapons attack earlier this week.

"The UK Government fully supports the US action, which we believe was an appropriate response to the barbaric chemical weapons attack launched by the Syrian regime, and is intended to deter further attacks."

(Image: Isabel Infantes/PA Wire)

Speaking from Florida, Mr Trump announced his strike in an emotional message to the public in which he evoked images of children dying.

"Using a deadly nerve agent, Assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children. It was a slow and brutal death for so many," he said.

"Even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this very barbaric attack.

"Tonight, I ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched.

"It is in this vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons.

"There can be no dispute that Syria used banned chemical weapons."

US Tomahawk missiles, launched from two warships in the Mediterranean Sea, targeted airstrips, hangars, control towers and ammunition areas in Sharyat, central Syria, according to officials.

(Image: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Robert S. Price/U.S. Navy via AP)

They suspect a mixture of chlorine and a nerve agent were used in Syria's attack on the largely opposition-held Idlib province.

Mr Trump said the latest action was in the "vital national security interest", adding that the US must "prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons".

He also called for other "civilised nations" to join efforts "seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria".

Britain had been leading renewed calls for diplomatic action in response to the earlier chemical attack.

The US, UK and France had brought a resolution before the United Nations Security Council, demanding an investigation.

Earlier on Wednesday, Downing Street had played down the prospect of military action, insisting "nobody is talking" about an armed response to the atrocity.

Syrian state TV went on to report missile attacks on a number of military targets, calling them an act of "aggression" which had led to "losses".