“Negotiation not annihilation” - just one of the messages protesters brought to Stroud high street on Saturday as they held a peace vigil for the conflict in Syria.

The morning vigil came shortly after news that the UK, along with the US and France, launched an airstrike on three Syrian government facilities in response to a suspected chemical attack on the town of Douma.

Aside from fears the strike would further inflame bloodshed in the country, many protesters questioned whether Prime Minister Theresa May had authorised the strike legitimately.

The strike was “undemocratic”, lamented John Marjoram, a former mayor of Stroud who thinks Parliament should have signed off on the strike.

Protesters brought their message of peace to life by proceeding through Stroud town centre with music. They were also collecting donations for Refugee Aid Stroud and later convened at thrift shop Rasmachaz, which raises money for the same cause.

Lucas Schoemaker, who sits on Stroud Town Council for Trinity Ward, welcomed the political diversity of those attending. “It’s evidence of Stroud’s consensus-based politics,” he said.

Local Labour MP David Drew was at the vigil - he opposed the strike and has echoed Jeremy Corbyn’s criticism of the Government for failing to seek parliamentary approval.

Mr Drew abstained from the vote for the Iraq war in 2003, but voted to say that the case for the war had not yet been established, according to MP watchdog TheyWorkForYou.

Those at the vigil may also have recognised Polly Higgins, international ecocide law expert. She explained her reasoning for attending: “[the situation in Syria] is ecocide of our own making – everyone gathered here is standing up as a conscientious objectors on behalf of the earth, our fellow humans and those in Syria.”

Theresa May will face MPs later today for the first time since the strike - she will argue the retaliation was in Britain’s national interest, reports the Guardian this morning.