British Prime Minister Theresa May has called for a Cabinet meeting to decide the U.K.’s response in Syria following a suspected chemical weapons attack reportedly carried out by the Syrian government.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and other British politicians have demanded that Parliament’s House of Commons vote before British forces are deployed in Syria, the Independent reported.
The Cabinet meeting follows May’s conversations with President Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron this week about a response to the chemical attack.
Trump tweeted earlier Wednesday that missiles would be headed toward Syria despite a warning from its ally Russia that it would shoot them down.
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The Independent, citing Downing Street sources, said the Cabinet meeting signals that May is moving to the “next phase” of her response to the Syrian crisis.
It also signals that the prime minister is hardening her language about the chemical attack in the Damascus suburb of Douma that left at least 49 people dead.
“We are working with our allies. As I say, we’ve been working with them to get a better understanding of what happened on the ground. We’re rapidly reaching that understanding,” May said.
“All the indications are that this was the responsibility of the Syrian regime and we will now work with our closest allies to see how we can ensure those responsible are held to account,” she added.
May said she was not surprised that Russia vetoed a United Nations resolution that would have created a group to investigate who was responsible for the attack.
She seems to indicate that she has given up on diplomatic solutions by saying “there can be no role now for investigations by the United Nations.”