Syria: PM calls emergency cabinet meeting as Russian TV jokes about ‘doomsday’

Theresa May is holding an emergency cabinet meeting today to discuss Britain’s response to the suspected chemical weapons attack on civilians in Syria.

As geopolitical tensions continue to rise, the PM said the attack, allegedly perpetrated by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, “cannot go unchallenged”.

“All the indications are that the Syrian regime was responsible,” she told reporters during a visit to Birmingham yesterday. “We will be working with our closest allies on how we can ensure that those who are responsible are held to account, and how we can prevent and deter the humanitarian catastrophe that comes from the use of chemical weapons in the future.”

The Daily Telegraph reports that British submarines “armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles” have been ordered to move within range of Syria, in readiness for a strike.

Labour and SNP ministers are among those demanding that Parliament have a vote before any bombing raids begin. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn insists that the House of Commons “should always be given a say on military action”.

But “privately, No. 10 is adamant the PM is not legally obliged to recall Parliament before authorising military action against Syria, insisting the Cabinet Office manual is clear on this point”, says Politico’s Tom McTague.

Those close to May say there is only “limited precedent” for MPs to be consulted, McTague reports.

“It is worth noting, however, that even if military action is taken before MPs return from their Easter recess, May will almost certainly have to explain her response to parliament and seek its approval for any longer-term engagement,” he adds.

May is in a “lose-lose situation”, with the suspected nerve agent attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in Wiltshire last month further complicating matters, says The Times’s Matt Chorley.

“Britain cannot be seen to take the use of chemical weapons in Salisbury more seriously than their use in Syria, but there are no easy options for the Prime Minister,” he says.

A YouGov poll of 1,600 adults for The Times this week found that only 22% supported British air strikes in Syria, with twice as many opposed.

“Corbyn appears to have the public on his side, and May knows it,” says Chorley.

The divide in public opinion is echoed in Britain’s newspapers, with The Daily Telegraph warning against Britain “being left on the sidelines”, while the Daily Mail’s frontpage calls intervention “May’s great gamble” and warns the PM against “repeating Tony Blair’s calamitous mistake in Iraq”.

The escalating rhetoric from the US over Syria shows no signs of easing, with White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders reiterating this week that militarily, “all options were on the table”.

Meanwhile, in Russia, the state TV channel Rossiya 24 aired a programme joking about a “doomsday survival kit” that included rice because “it would not spoil for eight years”, and bottles of iodine, which would be useful to “combat the effects of radiation”.

“While a little tongue-in-cheek, Tuesday’s programme on the Rossiya 24 channel fitted in easily with other coverage in state broadcasts,” says The Times.