Britain's armed forces have started drawing up plans to launch a military attack on Syria, it was revealed this morning.
Downing Street has said David Cameron is considering a 'proportionate response' to the 'absolutely abhorrent' chemical weapons attack that killed up to 1,200 last week.
A decision on whether to fire missiles into Syria could be taken before the results of a report by UN weapons inspectors into the attack is produced, with a vote by MPs expected on Thursday.
'Any decision taken will be taken under a strict international framework. Any use of chemical weapons is completely and utterly abhorrent and unacceptable and the international community needs to respond to that,' Mr Cameron's official spokesman said.
Downing Street said all options were still on the table adding they wanted to 'deter' al-Assad from using more chemical weapons.
'No decision has yet been taken. We are continuing to discuss with our international partners what the right response should be, but, as part of this, we are making contingency plans for the armed forces,' the spokesman said.
It came as former Prime Minister Tony Blair compared the violent Bashar al-Assad regime to the 'dark days of Saddam'.
Mr Blair, who took Britain to war in Afghanistan and Iraq, said this morning that it is 'time we took sides'.
'People wince at the thought of intervention. But contemplate the future consequence of inaction and shudder,' he wrote in The Times.
This morning David Cameron returned early from his Cornish holiday to consider whether to recall Parliament.
MPs are demanding a binding vote over plans to launch missile strikes on Syria without the backing of the United Nations.
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