Prime minister Theresa May has recalled her cabinet from their Easter break for an emergency meeting to discuss possible military action against Syria, amid mounting speculation that she will authorise an attack without a vote in parliament.

A number of senior MPs, including Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Julian Lewis, the Tory chair of the defence select committee, have expressed deep concern at the prospect of any attempt by May to bypass the House of Commons.

Cabinet ministers are widely expected to rubber-stamp British involvement in a coordinated military intervention in Syria in a meeting on Thursday afternoon, following a suspected chemical weapons attack that the World Health Organization said killed more than 70 civilians and injured another 500, in a suburb of Damascus.

Corbyn told BuzzFeed News on Thursday that a Commons vote should be tabled before any military action. He said May's government appeared to be ignoring parliament "by not recalling parliament when it could have done, and taking a decision in the cabinet apparently today, which if Donald Trump's tweets are anything to go by could be implemented very quickly."



But does the PM actually need to consult parliament before ordering military action? Has that always happened in the past? Here's what you need to know.