MPs to question Cameron on Syria

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron was to be questioned by MPs Tuesday about Britain's response to the continued violence in Syria and heightened diplomatic tensions over Iran's nuclear ambitions, it was announced here. Anxieties surrounding the two Middle Eastern countries will be pored over by senior MPs on the House of Commons Liaison Committee when the Prime Minister appears before them this afternoon. Cameron was also to be questioned about public service reform, with the government's health reforms likely to feature prominently during the session, MPs said. The prime minister has threatened a "day of reckoning" for Syrians involved in "butchering" their own people. He has called for the authorities to turn their backs on President Bashar Assad's regime. Yesterday, he told the House of Commons there was a risk of "all out civil war" if Assad remained in power. But there are concerns about the extremely limited extent of Western intervention in Syria in contrast with the air strikes conducted over Libya last year, commentators said. Cameron has expressed strong frustration with Russia and China, which vetoed an Arab-backed peace plan last month and continue to shun global condemnation of human rights violations. Iran's development of nuclear technology remains of serious concern to the international community, with no signs so far that sanctions have had any significant restraining effect. There are fears that Israel may be tempted to launch military strikes as early as this summer, the commentators pointed out.