Human rights for Syrians but perhaps not for Saudis in Labour’s Middle East

While David Lammy lauded the fall of Bashar al-Assad, Keir Starmer was having a love-in with Mohammed bin Salman

Not that the foreign secretary was trying to take any of the credit for the collapse of the Assad regime, but without the UK standing firm then the dictator would have been around a lot longer. Just saying. Only maybe things weren’t entirely that simple.

Because David Lammy had given an interview to Laura Kuenssberg back in September in which he said he had been talking enthusiastically to the Italians about their deal to send refugees back to Syria. So not quite the same as talking directly to Assad. But nearly so. By such threads are reputations made.

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