Britain's ambassador to Syria has been recalled to London to give ministers an on-the-ground of assessment of the spiraling bloodshed in the country, Foreign Secretary William Hague told the Commons on Monday.
Hague told MPs that the humanitarian situation in Syrian cities was deteriorating, and said there was a "grave danger of it escalating further".
Hague also added his voice to the chorus of international outcry over Russia and China's decision to veto a draft UN resolution calling for an end to the clampdown by Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
"There was nothing in this draft resolute that could not be supported," Hague told the Commons. "It could not have been used to authorise military intervention.
"We regard this veto as a grave error of judgement," he concluded, saying it was a "betrayal of the Syrian people."
Hague told a somber Commons that the Assad regime was "doomed" and outlined the next steps Britain would take.
He told MPs that the Syrian ambassador to London had been summoned to the Foreign Office earlier on Monday for a dressing-down, adding that relations between London and Damascus had deteriorated.
The foreign secretary pledged to intensify Britain's contact with Syria's opposition, and would work with the rest of the European Union to increase pressure on the Assad regime.
"We will use our remaining channels to the Syrian regime to make clear our abhorrence," Hague said.