The UK welcomes the fall of Bashar Assad’s “barbaric regime” in Syria, the Prime Minister has said as he called for the restoration of “peace and stability”.
Sir Keir Starmer urged all sides to protect civilians and ensure aid could reach the vulnerable as he responded to the overthrow of the Syrian regime.
Overnight on Sunday, a lightning rebel offensive seized control of Damascus, the Syrian capital, and president Mr Assad is now reported to have fled to Moscow.
My statement on the events in Syria. pic.twitter.com/toQoh98fr4
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) December 8, 2024
The Prime Minister said it was still “early days” when asked if Britain would engage with the rebels, a banned terror group, but insisted on the need for a “political solution” to safeguard Syria’s future.
Sir Keir said: “The developments in Syria in recent hours and days are unprecedented, and we are speaking to our partners in the region and monitoring the situation closely.
“The Syrian people have suffered under Assad’s barbaric regime for too long and we welcome his departure.
“Our focus is now on ensuring a political solution prevails, and peace and stability is restored.
“We call on all sides to protect civilians and minorities, and ensure essential aid can reach the most vulnerable in the coming hours and days.”
The leading insurgents in Syria are Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an Islamist rebel group which is banned in the UK.
It should be treated as an alternative name for al Qaida, the group once led by Osama bin Laden, according to the Government’s list of proscribed organisations.
Asked whether he would deal with the group, Sir Keir told broadcasters in Abu Dhabi: “It’s very early days at the moment.
“We do need a political solution, and that’s what we are talking to regional allies about. It is a good thing that Assad has gone, a very good thing for the Syrian people.”
But the Home Office recognised that HTS’s relationship with al Qaida had changed, as there had been a “splintering between the two organisations”.
A spokesperson for the department said the Government did not routinely comment on whether a group was “being considered for proscription or deproscription”.
“The situation on the ground in Syria is very fluid. The priority must be the safety of Syrian civilians and securing a political solution to the unfolding events,” they added.
A former spy chief said it would be “rather ridiculous” if the UK was unable to engage with HTS because of the ban.
Ex-head of MI6 Sir John Sawers said HTS was thought of as “too close to al Qaida” when he was in post, but added that its leader Mohammed al-Golani had “made great efforts over the last 10 years to distance himself from those terrorist groups”.
He also told Sky News: “So, I think the Home Secretary will be asking MI5 and the joint terrorism assessment centre for a review of the situation about Tahrir al-Sham and whether it should remain on the proscribed entity list.
“It would be rather ridiculous, actually, if we’re unable to engage with the new leadership in Syria because of a proscription dating back 12 years.”
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner had earlier told broadcasters the Foreign Office “had a plan to ensure that people were evacuated ahead of what’s happened over the weekend, and we continue to support our UK nationals”.
But she did not reveal how many UK nationals were in Syria or had been helped to leave.
Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said the Tories wanted to see the “right kind of outcome, put the Syrian people first, but also look at the sort of governance structures that could occupy Syria going forward”.
Dame Priti said the Government should look at a review of the “security and defence implications as well as the terrorist risks”, adding: “They will have to now assess the threat that HTS poses, immediately for our own interests, as well as for Syria’s interests and the wider region.”
Meanwhile, Amnesty International called for the UK to assist in “launching universal jurisdiction cases against suspected perpetrators” of human rights abuses in Syria.
