House recall urged over Syria crisis

Cross-party calls have grown from MPs who want to be given the chance to pre-approve any UK involvement in military action.

Last night, a spokesman for Number 10 said the Government “expected to have a lot more information” today.

He added that if MPs were to be summoned back to Westminster it would “almost certainly” be after tomorrow’s scheduled National Security Council (NSC) meeting, when potential responses will be discussed to the reported large-scale chemical weapon attack by the regime of president Bashar Assad which left hundreds 
dead in a Damascus suburb last week.

The NSC meeting will be chaired by Prime Minister David Cameron, who has broken off his family holiday in Cornwall to return to Downing Street.

Mr Cameron had a 40-minute telephone call with US president Barack Obama at the weekend in which they agreed the need for a “firm response” from the international community.

He also spoke with his French and German counterparts and ordered officials to consider “all options” in an effort to secure a co-ordinated response.

Foreign Secretary William Hague, meanwhile, said force may be the only remaining option in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons, after the failure of diplomatic efforts to end the country’s bloody civil war.

Mr Hague insisted that armed intervention could be deployed legally even without UN Security Council backing and he said a recall of Parliament would “depend on the timing and nature of what we propose to do”.

“Of course we are conscious of the views of Parliament on these matters and the need to be consulted so we are very conscious of that,” the Richmond MP said.

Pressed on whether action could be taken as early as this week – ahead of Parliament’s scheduled return next Monday – Mr Hague said: “I am not going to rule anything in or out.”

Any intervention would be “in accordance with international law and will be based on legal advice to the national security council and to the Cabinet”.

A significant number of Conservative backbenchers have joined Labour in calling for an early recall of Parliament.

Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander said: “Given both the seriousness of the reported chemical weapons strikes in Syria, and the enduring and complex nature of the conflict itself, ahead of any action being taken I would fully expect the Prime Minister to make his case to Parliament.”

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has cancelled a visit to UK troops serving in Afghanistan so that he can continue to take part in the Government talks over the Syria crisis.

A spokesman for Mr Clegg said he believes it is “important for MPs to have their say, but there’s a need for the Government to be able to act quickly if necessary” and he supported the need for a “strong response” from the international community to the “abhorrent” use of chemical weapons.

Mr Clegg agrees that, while any action would have to be “legal and proportionate”, it would not necessarily need UN agreement, his spokesman said, as Russia firmly ruled out backing military action and accused the West of taking a “dangerous path”.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has said chemical weapons were used in Syria and is accusing president Bashar Assad of destroying evidence.

Ratcheting up criticism of Syria’s alleged chemical weapons use, Mr Kerry called last week’s attack a “moral obscenity” that should shock the conscience of the world.

He said the US has additional information about the attack and will make it public in the days ahead. He said: “This international norm cannot be violated without consequences.”