DORSET MPs have said it was right for Britain to conduct air strikes on chemical weapons facilities in Syria.

Both South Dorset MP Richard Drax and his West Dorset counterpart Sir Oliver Letwin are behind the action, which Prime Minister Theresa May said should act as a warning to Russia over its use of chemical weapons.

Mrs May said military action against Bashar Assad's regime was a limited strike in response to the "harrowing" chemical weapons attack in Douma, and insisted it was "both right and legal".

But Mrs May also drew a link with the nerve agent attack on Russian former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury.

The UK, United States and France launched "precision strikes" in Syria overnight on Friday – and the US warned it was "locked and loaded" for fresh strikes.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the action was "legally questionable".

Mrs May has faced criticism for failing to recall Parliament and put the plans to a vote.

She continued to talk to world leaders at the weekend to explain why she had ordered British military involvement in the US-led strikes.

The PM has not ruled out fresh action if Bashar Assad's regime continues to attack its own people.

Sir Oliver said: “There is no point in having international rules banning the use of chemical weapons if the international community does not enforce them.

"Precisely targeted and rapid action within international law, avoiding civilian casualties, is therefore entirely appropriate in this case.”

Mr Drax said the West was facing a 'totally unpredictable' Russian-backed regime in Syria.

"We don't know how they are going to react. This is knife edge stuff," he said.

Mr Drax added: "The action we took was correct but I say that with reservations because we may be at risk of some kind of retaliatory action.

"But what we have done is send a message that if a red line is crossed there are consequences. Unless we take some kind of action they are going to keep doing it; the West must intervene.

"A limited strike has been launched and that's about all we can do because no-one supports boots on the ground.

"The PM has made the right decision."

The action has been criticised by the Green Party in Dorset however.

Green borough and county councillor Dr Jon Orrell said: "Chemical weapons are evil –yet two wrongs do not make a right.

"Killing people who kill people leads to more cycles of violence.

"We should have recalled Parliament and held a vote. As there is a reheating of the Cold War we need cooler heads holding the nuclear triggers."

And chairman of the West & South Dorset Green Party Kelvin Clayton said: "The stakes are too high for this type of military action.

"Diplomacy should be used and exhausted before such measures are considered, and they haven’t been – by any measure.

"And Theresa May was wrong to take such action without the the approval of Parliament: she is not our president, we live in a democracy, and we were not under any threat of attack that required an immediate response – she had time to consult Parliament but chose not to."