MP Sarah Wollaston has warned that unilateral Western military intervention in Syria in the wake of the chemical weapons horror in Damascus could lead to another world war.

She was one of the MPs in the front line of the demands for yesterday's urgent recall of Parliament to discuss what action to take as the threat of action puts the UK and USA in direct conflict with Russia and China.

The South Hams MP also wants to hear what her own constituents think about the crisis.

But she said: 'Fundamentally this is a moral and ethical issue as to whether to intervene. My gut feeling is that I don't think it would help. It would just harden attitudes and lead to a wider conflict in which many hundreds of thousands of people could be killed.'

The Conservative MP said she had been in contact with Number 10 Downing Street, tweeting, writing and speaking out publicly about the need to recall Parliament for an 'open and honest' debate with a free vote at the end of it.

'It is a conflict that could lead to a far wider conflict pulling in Russian and Iraq with quite extraordinarily grave consequences.'

She said it could lead to another world war if Russia decided to retaliate in the wake of western attacks on Syria.

It would be naive not to consider that that could be a possibility,' she said.

Dr Wollaston said she wanted people living in the Totnes constituency to email her to let her know what their views are.

And in one of her Tweets she warned: 'It would be fatal arrogance for Government to act without listening to people.'

She told South Hams Newspapers: 'Within my constituency there are a lot of people who would have a view on this. It is not a case of taking a poll but it is important to listen to the full range of views and feelings on your constituency.'

She added: 'Rather than a headlong rush, we need Parliament to act as a brake and for MPs to debate the issue, not just following a statement of intent, but a genuine debate around the issue and for the Government to put a case to Parliament if there is a need to intervene.'

And she also asked: 'Where is the evidence that unilateral intervention by the West ultimately creates a better outcome. We could be sucked into a wider conflict without any careful planning about what the outcome would be. It would be a grave mistake to rush in.'

And she declared in one of her tweets: 'I don't believe unilateral Western intervention in Syria can achieve anything other than escalation into a global conflict.'

She later asked South Hams voters for their views, tweeting: 'If you live in the Totnes constituency I want to hear your opinion on Syria so please email [email protected]">[email protected].'