Britain agrees to destroy part of Syria's chemical stockpile December 21, 2013 - 1:54PM BEST OF THE BEST: Apple's iPad mini with Retina display. London Britain will help eliminate Syria's chemical stockpile by taking and destroying 165 tonnes of substances that could be used to make highly toxic nerve agents, British officials said on Friday. The industrial-grade chemicals are to be shipped to Britain in securely sealed containers, then transferred to a commercial facility and incinerated there, the government said. By themselves, the chemicals, known as "B precursors," are not very dangerous, officials said. Only when combined with other specific substances, known as "A precursors," do they create a poisonous nerve agent. As a precaution, the two types of chemicals are being removed from Syria and destroyed separately. Since Syrian President Bashar Assad agreed in September to a deal brokered by the US and Russia to give up his chemical arsenal by the middle of next year, finding countries willing to take and neutralise portions of the stockpile has been a tough task. Some of the most hazardous substances are to be destroyed by the United States at sea, because they are considered too dangerous to import into any country. China pledged this week to provide a military ship to help protect the American vessel charged with destroying those chemicals. Britain said Friday it would send one of its own naval vessels to guard the Danish and Norwegian cargo ships that will remove President Assad's stockpile from Syria. "The international mission to destroy Syria's chemical weapons program is essential to ensure that Assad can never again use these horrific weapons to murder his own people," the British government said in a statement.