Syrian rebel group HTS could be removed from UK’s banned terror organisation list
The UK government could remove the group that led the Syrian rebellion from its list of banned terror organisations, a senior minister has told Sky News.
Pat McFadden told Sky News’ Breakfast with Kay Burley a decision would be made “quickly” about whether to take Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) off the proscribed terror list.
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Asked if the government planned to do so, Mr McFadden said ministers will “consider” it.
“I think it will partly depend on what happens in terms of how that group behaves now.
“I think countries around the world who proscribe HTS – it’s not just the UK, the United States, European countries as well – I think probably will look at that now, and see what’s going to happen in the future.
“It won’t take that long. I think we need to do it quickly.”
HTS led the offensive by rebel groups in Syria over the past week that saw the capital, Damascus, taken over and the Assad regime overthrown after years of civil war.
Bashar al Assad, who took over from his father to rule Syria for 24 years, has fled to Russia and is reportedly now in Moscow.
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What happened to Bashar al Assad?
HTS used to be a wing of al Qaeda known as the Nusra Front and has long been designated a terrorist group by the US, UK and Russia.
The group comes under al Qaeda on the UK’s proscribed list, with the British government saying it should be treated as an alternative name for al Qaeda.
Its founder, Abu Muhammed al Jolani, cut ties with al Qaeda in 2016 in an effort to appear moderate and in 2021 he said he had no desire to wage war against Western countries.
Read more:
Who are the Syrian rebels claiming control of the Syrian capital?
How Syrian rebels overthrew the Assad regime in just over a week
Syrian rebels have overthrown the Assad regime
Former head of the British Army’s chemical weapons unit, Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, told Sky News HTS “seemed to be a different organisation” when he was in Syria in 2020, compared to the last time he was there seven years before.
“Even in those days, they were trying to convince the medical networks we were helping that they were a political, moderate entity,” he said.
“What they’re saying now is, is the same. Syria was always a secular and moderate country, and it’s key that all the various factions are bought into this.
“And if it requires somebody like their leader, Abu Mohammed Alka Jilani, to do that, then so be it. But I think we need to give them a chance. They’re saying the right things.
“The people of Syria are absolutely delighted and want to make things work, but it’s going to be a challenge.”
A 15-year-old boy has died after “getting into difficulty” in a lake in southeast London, police say.
Officers and paramedics were called shortly after 3pm on Friday to Beckenham Place Park in Lewisham.
The Metropolitan Police said a boy “was recovered from the lake” at around 10.42pm the same day.
“He was taken to hospital where he was sadly pronounced dead. His death is being treated as unexpected but not believed to be suspicious,” according to the force.
The boy’s family has been told and are being supported by specialist officers.
The force originally said the child was 16 years old, but has since confirmed his age as 15.
In the earlier statement, officers said emergency services carried out a search and the park was evacuated.
Emergency teams were called to Beckenham Place Park on Friday afternoon
Beckenham Place Park, which borders the London borough of Bromley, covers around 240 acres, according to the park’s website.
The lake is described as 285 metres long, reaching depths of up to 3.5 metres.
It is designed as a swimming lake for open-water swimming and paddle boarding.
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said on Friday: “We were called at 3.02pm this afternoon to reports of a person in the water.
“We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and members of our hazardous area response team.”
Emergency teams have not explained how the boy entered the water, or whether he was accompanied by others.
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