Syria air strikes morally and legally right, Theresa May tells Parliament

British Prime Minister Theresa May today made a statement in Parliament to justify her decision to join US-led air strikes alongside France against Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles over the weekend and declared that it had been a morally and legally right move.

She told MPs in the House of Commons that there was "clear evidence" the Bashar al-Assad government was behind a recent chemical weapons attack in Douma and it had been necessary to go ahead with the action without recalling Parliament for a vote on the issue to maintain the vital security of the military operation.

It was about a limited, targeted and effective strike that sought to alleviate the humanitarian suffering of the Syrian people by degrading the Syrian regime's chemical weapons capability and deterring their use. And we have published the legal basis for this action, the British premier said.

It is Parliament's responsibility to hold me to account for such decisions and Parliament will do so. But it is my responsibility as Prime Minster to make these decisions. And I will make them, she added.