LONDON (AFP) - British Prime Minister David Cameron is cutting short his holiday to deal with the Syria situation, and will meet shortly with top cabinet ministers, a Downing Street spokesman said on Monday.

Mr Cameron, who has been on holiday in Cornwall, south-west England, held a series of phone conversations with other world leaders over the weekend but will be returning to London to continue working on the international response to last week's suspected deadly chemical weapons attack outside Damascus.

UN inspectors headed to the site on Monday as the West mulled possible military action.

Mr Cameron, who had been due back later in this week, "will be working from Downing Street on Tuesday," a spokesman told AFP. He is due to chair his National Security Council (NSC) on Wednesday.

"It's because of the situation in Syria," the spokesman said.

The NSC, which meets weekly, comprises 10 high-ranking government ministers. Other cabinet ministers plus defence and intelligence chiefs attend when required.

Mr Cameron spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande on Sunday about Syria, having spoken to US President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Saturday.

Some British politicians have demanded the recall of parliament from its summer break to debate Syria.

Downing Street says summoning parliament before it returns on September 2 has not been ruled out.