Russians say British intelligence behind chemical attack, Corbyn calls for new 'War Powers Act'
Russian officials say a purported chemical attack in Syria was a fabrication staged by British intelligence agencies to pave the way for allied strikes.
Alexander Shulgin, Russia's envoy at the Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, did not provide any evidence of the alleged British involvement, saying only that "there is no other plausible explanation" of the April 7 attack in Douma.
Britain has denied the Russian claim as a "blatant lie".
Igor Kirillov, a Russian chemical weapons protection expert who visited Douma, said the rebels refused to show any bodies of the victims of the attack.
He said on Monday at a briefing at The Hague that the only patient who said he was poisoned by chemicals made statements that made it clear he was lying.
Meanwhile, the British Labour leader has responded to Theresa May’s statement on recent airstrikes in Syria suggesting her statement should be a welcome reminder of her accountability to the British Parliament and not Donald Trump.
Speaking above jeers from the Tory benches Mr Corbyn said Labour’s wanted to introduce a War Powers Act that would make it mandatory that parliament approve military action “to transform a broken convention into a legal convention.”
“The Prime Minister is accountable to this parliament not to the whims of the US president, we clearly need a War Powers act in this country to transform a now broken convention into a legal obligation.”
