PM summons Cabinet to authorise strike on Syria
The prime minister is convening an emergency Cabinet meeting for Thursday to authorise a military response to what she is now convinced was a chemical attack by Syria's President Assad on his own compatriots in Douma.
The timing of the meeting carries weighty implications; first that intelligence reports, including from other countries, have convinced Theresa May that Assad breached the global ban on the use of chemical weapons in the most heinous way; second, that she believes America and France could decide to launch retaliatory strikes as soon as Thursday night and she wants to be in a position to join with them.
That said, sources have cautioned me that the timing of any action - likely to be bombing of Syrian airfields and facilities thought to be making chemical weapons - is still unclear.
What looks likely, however, is that UK participation in military action, alongside the US and France, could well happen without any parliamentary debate or approval.
This implies any initial attack on Assad's military capability would be comparatively limited and would use so-called "smart" missiles and drones, rather than putting the lives of British military personnel at direct risk.
Any broader and deeper military action would cause outrage among many MPs if it was carried out without a Commons vote.
As it happens, the most senior MP and former chancellor Ken Clarke on Tuesday told me that he feels even a limited airborne strike should not happen without parliamentary assent.
Also, earlier on Wednesday, Labour's leader Jeremy Corbyn said he did not believe there should be any military action unless, and until, MPs are given the opportunity to vote on it.
MPs do not return from their Easter break until Monday, and it is now too late to summon them back earlier.
There are significant risks attached to any attack on Assad, given that Putin's Russia - Assad's ally - has been unambiguous that there should be no military action against him and his regime, and has threatened to shoot down any missiles targeted at Syria.
There are widespread fears that Syria may become the theatre for an escalation in the proxy war between America, Saudi Arabia and Israel on the one hand, and Russia, Syria and Iran on the other.