British Minister for the Middle East and North Africa Tobias Ellwood said his country hails the United Nations Security Council's voting to set up a panel to identify who is behind deadly chlorine gas attacks in Syria, which the West blames on the Damascus regime.

"I have made clear that these appalling breaches of international law not only violate previous Security Council resolutions, but the Chemical Weapons Convention which Syria acceded to only last year when it committed to full destruction of its barbaric arsenal of chemical weapons. The fact the resolution was adopted unanimously shows that the international community is serious about bringing those responsible for their use to justice," Ellwood said.

"Sadly, these horrific acts continue. The UK has been clear that we believe that the Assad regime has repeatedly used chemical weapons in Syria. We remain committed to holding to account those responsible for these appalling acts, and to assist in the work of the new Joint Investigative Mechanism."