Britain yesterday dramatically expanded the scale and scope of the aid it is giving the Syrian opposition and pledged to supply armoured vehicles and chemical weapons testing kits to anti-government rebels.

In his strongest comments yet on the conflict in Syria, Foreign Minister William Hague said international policy on Syria had been an “abject failure”, saying the chances of an immediate solution to the two-year crisis were slim.

“In our view if a political solution to the crisis in Syria is not found and the conflict continues, we and the rest of the European Union will have to be ready to move further, and we should not rule out any option for saving lives,” Hague told Parliament.

But he played down the prospect of direct Western intervention, adding: “No Western government is advocating military intervention of Western nations into the conflict in Syria. The discussion is entirely focused on the degree of assistance that can and should be delivered to the opposition.”

However, Hague’s promise of greater aid – which also included search and rescue kits, communications equipment, body armour, waste incinerators to prevent disease, and advice and training – represented a step-change in British policy reflecting London’s frustration with the pace of change on the ground.

Hague said on Sunday that Britain did not rule out arming the rebels in the future, and yesterday appeared to underline that possibility by saying Britain could act alone if embargo amendments could not be agreed with the EU.

The embargo does not allow the EU to arm the rebels, and while armoured four-wheel-drive cars are a significant jump in British assistance, all aid pledged so far has been non-lethal.

Gulf states are believed to have already been supplying arms to the opposition, who are outgunned by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, and on Wednesday the Arab League allowed Arab military support to the rebels.

Hague said Britain was “increasingly concerned” about Assad’s willingness to use chemical weapons, and would also give rebels equipment that would allow them to gather evidence in the event chemical weapons were used. He said the conflict had reached “catastrophic proportions”.