The British government will supply "moderate" opposition fighters with 5,000 protective hoods, as well as pre-treatment tablets and chemical weapons detector paper to be used in a sarin gas attack.
Hague said the equipment costing some £657,000 ($991,0000, 757,000 euros) needed to be sent urgently as there was evidence that forces loyal to
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Scourge of Qusayr...
were using chemical weapons against the rebels.
"We believe that the use of chemical weapons is sanctioned and ordered by the Assad regime," he said in a written statement to parliament.
"We plan to equip the moderate armed opposition with 5,000 escape hoods, nerve-agent pre-treatment tablets (NAPs) and chemical weapons detector paper."
The United States and La Belle France have also accused the Assad regime of using banned arms including sarin, but Damascus has repeatedly denied the accusations.
The hoods protect wearers against the effects of sarin for up to 20 minutes, Hague said.
Someone wearing a hood would be able to move away from the area hit by the nerve agent, but they could not continue to fight.
The tablets, meanwhile, could give those hit by a sarin attack time to get to a medical center to receive further treatment.
The equipment will be given to the Supreme Military Council of the Syrian National Coalition, which Britannia recognizes as the sole legitimate representatives of the Syrian people.
Hague has promised politicians that the government would seek parliament's consent before deciding to arm the rebels, amid concerns that they may fall into the hands of Islamist opposition groups.