Syria crisis: the wives whispering in David Cameron's ear Senior Government sources have described her sympathy for the plight of Syrian people as the "biggest explanation" for the Prime Minister's hawkish attitude. She is not the only woman connected to Mr Cameron and other government figures to hold such views on the conflict and how Britain should react. Now, that Mr Cameron has failed in his attempt to persuade MPs to support military intervention, some of these women are venting their dismay at Parliament's decision. After Thursday night's vote Emily Sheffield, Mrs Cameron's sister and the deputy editor of the magazine Vogue, wrote on the social networking site Twitter that she was "ashamed" that MPs had failed to pass a motion paving the way for military action against President Bashar al-Assad's regime. "No one is talking about Syria," she wrote. Just talking about Cam defeat and our role in the world. We effectively moved the spotlight off chemical weapons. The wife of Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, also could not contain her fury. "I am SO angry about today's vote," wrote Sarah Vine, a journalist. No military action would have come out of it. It was simply about sending a signal. Cowardice. Miss Vine later added: "Labour got everything they wanted. But given the choice of humiliating David Cameron or taking a stand against an atrocity, they chose the former. Nice. Downing Street has previously admitted that Mrs Cameron influences the Prime Minister's thinking on a range of policy areas. His sudden enthusiasm for introducing gay marriage was said to stem from his wife's support for the policy. "Of course, David is influenced by his wife - that's entirely healthy," said one senior Tory. You've got to listen to people you trust outside the bunker. In Government, you can get wrapped up in what civil servants and other advisers are telling you - different opinion, legal advice, cost, implications. It's not hard to be distracted from the simple humanity of situations. The recriminations have begun. Several Tory MPs told this newspaper that they could not see how Sir George Young, the 72-year-old chief whip, could survive such a "shambolic" management of a process which saw the Government lose by 285 votes to 272. Ten of the Government's own ministers did not make it to the Commons. So confident were they that David Gauke, the Treasury minister, and an unnamed Tory whip, were granted permission not to return from holiday. "I cannot see how Sir George can survive this," said one MP close to Mr Cameron. Where were the calls, email or text messages? It all beggars belief. At noon on Thursday, there was not a hint of panic on the Prime Minister's sun-tanned face as he breezed into Portcullis House's Boothroyd Room to address 200 of his MPs on a response to the crisis. Onlookers say the Prime Minister made a convincing case for military action against Assad's regime and then took questions for more than half and hour. "This wasn't a tense meeting, everyone left with smiles on their faces," recalls another MP. This wasn't a rallying of the troops ... it felt more like a briefing. He listened to those who opposed action and said he respected their views. At least five of the rebels weren't there - it genuinely didn't occur to any of us that the vote could be lost. But a couple of hours later, the mood in Downing Street had changed dramatically. Labour's support had evaporated and senior Tories began to start seeing how many of their own MPs would vote against the Government's motion. Eighty-one Tories signed a letter earlier in the summer urging the Prime Minister to consult Parliament before launching military action against Assad. Few - if any - of these known rebels were consulted by Downing Street before Thursday. The first man sent out by Downing Street to sure up the Tory ranks was Sam Gyimah, the Prime Minister's affable Principal Private Secretary. "Nice guy, Sam," said one MP who voted in favour of the Government motion. A one-man SAS crack unit he is not. Ed Llewellyn, Mr Cameron's chief of staff, was also dragged in to muster support. "It was so naive," says one of the rebels. The first contact I had from anyone in Downing Street was at 4pm on Thursday afternoon. They thought they were home and dry. A typical Downing Street bunker-mentality operation. They get an idea about what they want to do, but they don't think about how it will play out with everyone else until it's too late. Just the same as it was with gay marriage, House of Lords reform, HS2, everything. With just three hours until the first Commons votes on motions to support military action in Syria, Mr Cameron began to telephone his MPs in a last-ditch effort to shore up support. "It was incredibly honest, strikingly direct," says one of the Conservative rebels to take a call from the Prime Minister. "'I need your support," he said. They're big words, especially if you're someone like me with a track record for voting against him. This wasn't bullying - it was pleading. George Osborne was also making calls and sending text messages to expected Tory rebels. A dire episode for the Prime Minister this may be, but talk of an imminent challenge against Mr Cameron's leadership seems premature. "It's so frustrating," says one Tory MP. We'd had such a great summer. We're back together on Europe, and Labour have looked in a shambles over the unions. I thought the Prime Minister would look the grand statesman leading us into battle. But while this is such a mess, it's not a game-changer and it's not a leadership issue. He adds: "You could argue there is now so much hatred between us and Labour that it'll actually reunite the party."