Thirteen officials including two former high-ranking ex-diplomats, members of the House of Lords, academics and religious leaders have sent an appeal to Prime Minister Theresa May urging her to reconsider her government's Syria policy.
The letter, obtained by The Independent, and published on behalf of the Global Network for Syria, voices concern over British, American and French foreign policy in Syria, “including support for armed opposition groups, attempted regime change under the guise of ‘transition', the legal basis for recent airstrikes, de facto foreign occupation of Syrian territory, and the disastrous impact of sanctions.”
The group, which includes Peter Ford, who served as the UK's ambassador to Syria between 2003 and 2006, and Lord Andrew Green of Deddington, who served as ambassador between 1991 and 1994, says it fears “that the continuation of these policies will not contribute to the stabilization of Syria, as it is claimed, but will ensure that stabilization and reunification under a unitary authority remain a distant possibility, prolonging the suffering of the Syrian people and weakening the stability of the Middle East as a whole.”
Signatories of the letter also include a former Archbishop of Cantebury, as well as Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and independent members of the House of Lords.
Former ambassador Ford told The Independent that the letter was aimed…
