Cameron's parliamentary vote on Syria defeated

British Prime Minister David Cameron has lost a parliamentary vote on possible military action against Syria.

In a humiliating and unexpected development, Cameron and his coalition government failed to pass a motion that would have authorised military action against Syria in principle by 285 to 272 votes.

“It is very clear tonight that while the House has not passed a motion, it is clear to me that the British parliament, reflecting the views of the British people, does not want to see British military action – I get that and the government will act accordingly,” said Cameron.

The vote came as members of the UN Security Council met to discuss allegations that the Syrian regime had launched a deadly chemical weapons attack in suburbs of Damascus.

The UK had seemed poised to join Washington in possible military strikes in response to the alleged incident.

UN weapons inspectors are continuing to investigate the chemical weapons claims.They are due to present their findings to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday.

The Syrian regime denies that it has launched a chemical attack. It is blaming rebels, claiming that they are trying to frame the government.