BBC world affairs editor John Simpson is facing a backlash after describing deposed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad as ‘weak rather than wicked’.
The renowned journalist also said on Sunday he had found Assad ‘meek’ and the ‘reverse of the traditional dictator’ in person.
Writing on X, Mr Simpson said: ‘Bashar al-Assad has done many evil things, but he’s weak rather than wicked.
‘His family members, Iran and especially Russia told him what to do, and he feebly did it. In person, I found him meek and anxious to please — the reverse of the traditional dictator.’
Within minutes of sending the post, Mr Simpson faced criticism from people such as Piers Morgan and former Tory skills minister Robert Halfon – who labelled the tweet as ‘disgraceful’.
Mr Halfon said: ‘This is a disgraceful tweet… Assad is the dictator who imprisoned thousands and massacred many many more of his own people using chemical weapons.’
Mr Morgan added: ‘Try telling the people he tortured, murdered and unleashed chemical weapons on, that he isn’t wicked…’
In the wake of the outrage, Mr Simpson responded: ‘I’m not defending Assad, I’m trying to explain the precise nature of his crimes.’
BBC world affairs editor John Simpson said on Sunday he had found Assad ‘meek’ and the ‘reverse of the traditional dictator’ in person
Within minutes of sending this post, Mr Simpson faced criticism from the likes of Piers Morgan and former Tory skills minister Robert Halfon
In the aftermath of Assad’s regime being toppled, a number of politicians who had previously warned against the UK taking action in Syria have remained silent
His comments came as Sir Keir Starmer welcomed the fall of President Assad’s ‘barbaric’ regime on Sunday night as he flew to the region, while deputy PM Angela Rayner said that the former leader ‘wasn’t exactly good for the Syrian people’.
Clarifying his comments on BBC Breakfast on Monday morning, Mr Simpson said: ‘I thought he [Assad] was incredibly weak and feeble. I’ve interviewed quite a lot of dictators over the years. I don’t think I ever dared to ask Sudam Hussain “Are you in charge here?”, he would have gone crazy.
‘Bashar al-Assad had to explain the whole thing about how he really was in charge and it was clear he wasn’t.
‘That doesn’t absolve him of any of the blame for any of the evil things his regime does, but he was the glove puppet that other people were ordering him to do.’
In the aftermath of Assad’s regime being toppled, a number of politicians who had previously warned against the UK taking action in Syria have remained silent.
Despite having said in 2018 that his popularity in Syria had been underestimated, the head of the foreign affairs select committee Emily Thornberry described Assad as ‘a murderous tyrant’ this weekend.
Speaking on Sunday, Ms Thornberry told The Telegraph: ‘We can only celebrate the end of the reign of a murderous tyrant who prosecuted the most brutal of wars upon his own people. The question we have to ask, even in these moments of celebration, is what happens next?’
But in 2018, she told Prospect magazine: ‘I think there has been a depth and a breadth of support for Assad that has been underestimated … there is an argument that if he had been as overwhelmingly unpopular as the rebels told the West at the outset, then he wouldn’t be there.’
Despite having said in 2018 that his popularity in Syria had been underestimated, the head of the foreign affairs select committee Emily Thornberry described Assad as ‘a murderous tyrant’ this weekend
Ms Thornberry had been criticised alongside Jeremy Corbyn, the then Labour leader and now-independent MP, for their response to a 2018 chemical attack on Douma, which the US, France and Britain concluded was conducted by the Assad regime.
Mr Corbyn said at the time: ‘The horrific deaths and injuries in Douma point to a chemical attack, which must be fully investigated by the UN and those responsible held to account. The need to restart real negotiations for peace and a political settlement in Syria could not be more urgent.’
Meanwhile, George Galloway, the former Workers Party of Britain MP, said on Sunday that the toppling of the Assad regime meant ‘the last castle of Arab dignity has fallen’. He had called the former president a ‘breath of fresh air’ in 2005.
MailOnline have approached the BBC for a comment.
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