Theresa May says joining US and France in airstrikes against Syrian regime was the ONLY WAY to deter more chemical atrocities

Theresa May insisted there was 'no alternative' to military reprisals against Syria today after Britain joined the US and France in unleashing a salvo of cruise missiles. The Prime Minister said the 'limited and targeted' strikes appeared to have been 'successful' in degrading the regime's capacity to commit more 'harrowing' attacks using chemical weapons. At a press conference in Downing Street this morning, Mrs May said Britain and its allies had 'no choice' but to conclude that a diplomatic response alone would not be effective in deterring fresh outrages. 'I believe this action was necessary. I believe it was the right thing to do,' she said. Mrs May said chemical weapons use could not be 'normalised' and every possible precaution had been taken to avoid escalation and confrontation with Russian forces, who are on the ground in numbers. Although stressing that the strikes were designed to deter the Syrian regime, Mrs May also referred to the nerve agent deployed against a former Russian spy in Salisbury last month and said it should make other states think again as well. And she rejected criticism of her refusal to call a parliamentary vote on the action, saying the strikes had to happen in a 'timely' fashion.