Michael Fallon says UK will support any fresh strikes by Donald Trump against Bashar Assad if Syria uses chemical weapons
Defence Secretary says Britain had backed US administration last April and was prepared to do so again
THE DEFENCE Secretary says the UK will support any fresh retaliation by Donald Trump against Bashar Assad if he uses chemical weapons again.
Sir Michael Fallon told the BBC Britain had backed the President when it mounted missile strikes against the Syrian regime last April - and was prepared to do so again.
It comes after the White House said it has "potential" evidence the Syrian military is preparing for another chemical attack against rebel forces, and warned the regime would pay a "heavy price" if it went ahead.
Sir Michael told the BBC Radio 4 Today: "As always in war, the military action you use must be justified, it must be legal, it must proportionate, it must be necessary. In the last case it was.
"If the Americans take similar action again, I want to be very clear - we will support it."
Earlier, Mr Trump’s press secretary Sean Spicer said the US had identified "potential preparations for another chemical weapons attack by the Assad regime that would likely result in the mass murder of civilians, including innocent children".
He said the activities were similar to preparations taken before the attack in April on Khan Sheikhoun in the rebel-held Idlib province which killed dozens of men, women and children.
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The White House official warned if "Mr Assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons, he and his military will pay a heavy price".
Sir Michael said the US had been monitoring the situation in Syria although it had not shared any specific evidence with the British Government about the regime preparations.
He said he expected to discuss the current position with US defence secretary General James Mattis when they meet at a gathering of Nato defence ministers on Thursday.
Sir Michael said: "Jim Mattis did review the various options with me last time before the final meeting with the president.
“I shall be seeing Secretary Mattis at the Nato meeting on Thursday. This is one of the matters we expect to review.”
He said the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime against its own people was "absolutely abhorrent", adding “what is important is to further degrade their capacity to do so”.
In response Allan Hogarth from Amnesty International said: “Preventing the use of chemical weapons and other attacks against civilians in Syria must be a genuine priority for the US and the UK, but by the same token it’s vital that any US military action itself fully complies with international humanitarian law.
“Worryingly, Michael Fallon makes no mention of the risk of civilian casualties in the event of new US airstrikes on Syria.”
The Head of Policy and Government Affairs at the human right group added: “The UK shouldn’t support US airstrikes that pose a significant risk to Syrian civilians and we should insist on this in any interaction with the US military authorities.
“In the past, the UK has uncritically supported US military attacks in the Middle East with sometimes disastrous consequences.
“We need to make our own decisions, seeing international humanitarian law as the ultimate guide not our relationship with President Trump’s administration.”