The Foreign Secretary William Hague has said there should be no "regrets or recrimination" after the government lost a vote on military action against Syria. He also ruled out a renewed attempt to persuade MPs, saying "Parliament has spoken".
Chancellor George Osborne has defended the government after their Commons vote defeat over potential British involvement in military strikes against Syria.
Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr show, he denied the government "rushed in and lost" and said: "I don't agree that a bit more evidence would have persuaded those MPs who didn't support us."
He also accused the opposition of playing party politics: "The Labour Party would have voted against regardless, they played this in quite an opportunistic way... Ed Miliband looks less like a Prime Minister even than he did a few weeks ago."
When asked if this was a historic moment in the UK's role in the world, Mr Osborne said: "I think we should be self confident about as a nation wanting to shape the world around us.
"It would be very sad if we turned our back on the world and I'm absolutely determined we don't."
David Cameron has backed Barack Obama after the president announced he is seeking congressional support to launch military action in Syria.
David Cameron accepted the public did not want intervention in Syria. But he might have got a different result if his ministers voted.