British fears grow over legal justification for Syria strike

David Cameron is facing demands to set out the legal justification for military action against Syria amid mounting unease over the scale and speed of Britain’s commitment to another conflict in the Middle East.

By Tim Ross, Political Correspondent

William Hague warned on Monday that force may be the only viable option in response to what the Government believes was a chemical attack by the Syrian regime which killed hundreds of people in Damascus last week.

Britain, America and France are united in their readiness to act and do not require any further United Nations resolution under international law, the Foreign Secretary said. John Kerry, the US secretary of state, described the chemical attack as a “moral obscenity” and warned that Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s president, must face “consequences”.

Mr Hague’s comments led to calls for ministers to “make their case” and detail the legal basis and long-term objectives of entering Syria’s bloody civil war.

As it emerged that the West could launch cruise missiles within days, a poll found wide public opposition to British involvement in “any kind” of military action in Syria. In a survey of 2,000 people by YouGov, only nine per cent supported sending British troops to fight in Syria, with 74 per cent against. Three-quarters backed sending humanitarian aid.

The Russian government warned that a strike without UN backing would be a “blatant violation of international law” that would worsen the situation on the ground.

On Monday night, the Prime Minister, who was on holiday in Cornwall, telephoned Vladimir Putin and told him there was “little doubt” that the Assad regime was responsible for the Damascus attack. The Russian president refused to accept that there was enough evidence of a chemical attack or that forces loyal to the regime were responsible.

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Michael Caplan, a solicitor who is an expert in international law, told BBC Radio 4’s World at One that ministers could find themselves in a “controversial situation”.

“The difficulty here is there’s no threat as I understand it to the security of this country or the United States and therefore on what basis can we intervene?” he asked.

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10267108/British-fears-grow-over-legal-justification-for-Syria-strike.html