Syrian poison gas use ‘unlikely 
to mean British troops in Syria’

The Prime Minister said he agreed with US President Barack Obama that the issue was a “red line”, but said it was unlikely that it would lead to British troops on the ground in Syria.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Mr Cameron said: “It is very disturbing what we are seeing. It’s limited evidence but there’s growing evidence that we have seen too of the use of chemical weapons, probably by the regime.

“It is extremely serious, this is a war crime, and we should take it very seriously.”

Two Syrian officials have denied the government has used chemical weapons against rebel forces, saying the regime had no need for them.

Syrian official Sharif Shehadeh called the US claims “lies” and likened them to false accusations that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction ahead of the US invasion.

Mr Cameron said they were trying not to make the mistake of “rushing into print” and were working to consider and verify the evidence with Britain’s allies.

“But this is extremely serious, and I think what President Obama said was absolutely right – that this should form for the international community a red line for us to do more.”

Asked if there could be troops on the ground in Syria, Mr Cameron said: “I don’t want to see that and I don’t think that is likely to happen, but I think we can step up the pressure on the regime, work with our partners, work with the opposition in order to bring about the right outcome.

“But we need to go on gathering this evidence and also to send a very clear warning to the Syrian regime about these appalling actions.”

He said intervention was already under way through measures such as trade embargoes, sanctions and travel bans.

“The question is how do we step up the pressure and, in my view, what we need to do – and we’re doing some of this already – is shape that opposition, work with them, train them, mentor them, help them, so that we put the pressure on the regime and so what we can bring this to an end.

“It is extremely difficult though, and extremely frustrating.”

Mr Cameron’s comments reinforce a determination in Britain and the United States that will not be drawn into precipitate action on intelligence which could be faulty as they did in Iraq.

Both London and Washington have called on Bashar al-Assad to allow United Nations inspectors to carry out a full investigation.

Last night the White House said the US intelligence community had assessed with “varying degrees of confidence” that chemical weapons had been used by the regime on a “small scale”.

The weapons are believed to include the deadly nerve agent sarin. It is understood that samples smuggled out of Syria were analysed by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down in Wiltshire.

Senior Republican Senator John McCain – one of the recipients of the White House letter – said it was now “pretty obvious” that the President’s “red line” had been crossed.

“Now I hope the administration will consider what we have been recommending now for over two years of this bloodletting and massacre, and that is to provide a safe area for the opposition to operate, to establish a no-fly zone and provide weapons to people in the resistance who we trust,” he said.