Syria chemical attack: Assad and his Russian backers must be held to account if found responsible, says Theresa May

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and his Russian backers “must be held to account” if the Syrian government is found to have been behind a chemical weapons attack in the country this weekend, Theresa May has said.

Speaking on a visit to Denmark the Prime Minister said Britain and its allies were working to “urgently establish what happened on Saturday”.

Though she stopped short of directly blaming the Syrian regime for the Douma attack, which is thought to have killed at least 42 people, Ms May said the incident fitted into a “troubling wider pattern of acts of aggression”.

“The UK utterly condemns the use of chemical weapons in any circumstances and we must urgently establish what happened on Saturday,” she told reporters.

“If confirmed this is yet another example of the Assad regime’s brutality and brazen disregard for its own people and for its legal obligations not to use these weapons. If they are found to be responsible the regime and its backers including Russia must be held to account.

“The events in Douma fit into a troubling wider pattern of acts of aggression and abuse of long-standing international norms on counter-proliferation and the use of chemical weapons.

Stating that the attack in Salisbury had shown a “similar recklessness” in the Us of chemical weapons, the PM in particular pointed the finger at Russia for its support for the Assad regime.

“In recent years Russia’s repeated vetoes and the UN have enabled these rules to be broke and removed mechanisms that allow us to investigate and hold to account chemical weapons attacks in Syria. This must stop,” she said.

The Prime Minister did not give specifics when asked what action should be taken against those found to have carried out the attack, but did not specifically rule out military action when it was suggested.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has called for an investigation into who carried out the attack, a cease-fire in the Syrian conflict, and said the international response should be based on evidence.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has confirmed it had begun an investigation into the attack, while Downing Street has warned Russia not to interfere.