Syria strikes - as it happened: Chemical weapons inspectors have entered Douma, Syrian state media says

Scrutiny of Russia's role on the world stage is deepening in the wake of the alleged chemical attack in Syria, where it backs president Bashar al-Assad's regime, and accusations the Kremlin meddled with 2016's US presidential election.

Last night UK and US officials claimed Vladimir Putin's government was behind an effort to target millions of internet-connected devices worldwide in order to spy, steal information and build networks for potentially devastating future cyber attacks.

The first ever joint “technical alert” from the two countries urged members of the public and businesses to help combat vulnerabilities with basic security precautions.

Theresa May has told a meeting of Commonwealth leaders that the use of chemical weapons must not be normalised.

The prime minister said at a London gathering of the organisation: "At the very moment international cooperation is so important some nations are choosing instead to shun the rules-based international system that underpins global security and prosperity.

"And the danger of the rules-based system being undermined is nowhere more obvious right now than in Syria.

"On top of the huge suffering inflicted on the Syrian people by years of conflict, we have seen a persistent pattern of behaviour in the Syrian regime's use of chemical weapons. Most recently in the barbaric attack on Douma earlier this month.

"We cannot allow the risk of chemical weapons to become normalised, either within Syria, or on the streets of the UK or elsewhere."

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Greek authorities say hundreds of refugees and other migrants have crossed the land border with Turkey in the past two days, with illegal crossings in the area increasing significantly following Turkey's military operation in northern Syria. 

Police said they had detained 370 people on Monday who had crossed the Evros River, which forms a natural border between Greece and Turkey, and another 140 people on Sunday.

The land route from Turkey into north-eastern Greece has become increasingly popular as conditions deteriorate on Greek islands, long the preferred route, where strict controls are now imposed on movement and camps are overcrowded.

Authorities have noted a surge in arrivals across the Evros, with 1,658 people detained in March compared to 586 in February and 262 in March 2017.

AP

The Trump administration is seeking to bring together an Arab force to replace US military personnel on the ground in Syria, it has been reported.

John Bolton is involved in the initiative, the Wall Street Journal reported, and recently spoke to a senior Egyptian official to gauge that country's support for the plan.

"We have asked our partners to take greater responsibility for securing their home region including contributing larger amounts of money for the resources, equipment and all of the anti-Isis effort" in Syria, Mr Trump said when he announced Saturday's joint air strikes.

Vladimir Putin has told Angela Merkel that Saturday's air strikes by Western powers violated international law, the Kremlin has said.

Mr Putin told his German counterpart that action by the US, UK and France had harmed the peace process in Syria.

A readout of the phone call came after Germany's foreign minister suggested his country could act as an intermediary, keeping dialogue with Russia open.

Heiko Mass said an upcoming G7 summit should provide a chance "to get the political process going again".

"We also need Russia for this dialogue," he said, suggesting Germany's traditionally closer relationship with Russia could help facilitate talks.

France's foreign ministry has said it is essential that Syria grant chemical weapons inspectors immediate and full access to Douma.

The ministry, in a statement, also said it was "very likely" evidence is now disappearing from the site of the alleged chemical attack.

A fuller story here on the French foreign ministry's fears that evidence is "disappearing" from Douma.

SNP MP Stewart McDonald has accused the Government of using intelligence and security briefings to "manipulate" MPs.

He said this was "not to inform them but to potentially bolster their own case".

Raising a point of order in the Commons, Mr McDonald said: "It's been brought to my attention by several sources that the Government has been selectively offering intelligence and security briefings by the prime minister's national security adviser on the current situation in Syria and the UK military response to it.

"These briefings appear to have been offered to members of the Labour opposition not on the basis of privy counsellor status but on the basis of those opposition members who are sympathetic to the government's position.

"That leads to concerns that the government is using intelligence briefings to manipulate parliament and to bolster its own case for its behaviour on the opposition benches - not on security terms, but on politics."

PA

While we cover the international developments in the Syria crisis in this live blog, our political reporters are providing live updates on the Commons debate on parliamentary approval of military action.

Angela Merkel has said Russia bears joint responsibility for the suspected Douma chemical attack, but that dialogue with Vladimir Putin's government must continue nonetheless.

"We know that in relation to the poison gas attack in Syria, that Russia, as an ally of Assad, has joint responsibility, there is no question about that, but it is nevertheless important to keep talking to Russia," Ms Merkel said in a joint press conference with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Ms Merkel added she expected to meet with Mr Putin in the foreseeable future, but that no date had been set. It follows a phone call between the two leaders on Tuesday.

Earlier, Germany's foreign minister Heiko Mass said he believed his country could be "the ones who can prop open the window for dialogue with Russia".