Britain could send hundreds of troops to Syria to prevent chemical weapons threat to the West, says Defence Secretary Philip Hammond refused to rule out sending troops to the war zone Hundreds of British soldiers could be sent to Syria to prevent a chemical threat to the West, the Defence Secretary hinted. Philip Hammond refused to rule out ordering troops to the war zone to rein in President Bashar al-Assad's regime or seize stockpiles of illegal weapons. He said it was "unlikely" but no option was "off the table" - in the most serious warning yet that the UK could deploy forces to Syria. Beating the drum: Defence Secretary Philip Hammond, left, has hinted that UK troops could be deployed in Syria. His comments came after General Sir David Richards, right, said Britain must be prepared to 'go to war' Mr Hammond spoke after the outgoing head of the Armed Forces said Britain risked being dragged into war. General Sir David Richards, who stepped down after three years as Chief of the Defence Staff yesterday, said ministers "would have to act" if hoards of chemical weapons were discovered. The UK must be prepared to "go to war" if it wanted to stop the bloodshed inflicted by President Assad to crush a pro-freedom uprising in his country, he said. At a ceremony at Horse Guards Parade in London to mark the end of General Richards" tenure, Mr Hammond said: "I think it's very unlikely we would see boots on the ground but we must never take any options off the table. It's not our job to decide how and when and if to deploy forces but to make sure the Prime Minister and the National Security Council have the maximum range of options open to them. 'e must never take any options off the table': Mr Hammond spoke at this ceremony at Horse Guards Parade in London yesterday to mark the end of General Richards' tenure as head of the Army General Richards revealed planning for a major operation led by Special Forces was under way. "The risk of terrorism is becoming more dominant in our vision for what we do in Syria," he said. If that risk develops, we would almost certainly have to act . . . and we are ready to do so. Some could characterise that as a war.