Former diocesan bishop part of British delegation that met Syria's President al-Assad
The former Bishop of Rochester and others have been criticised on social media for being part of a delegation that has met President of Syria Bashir al-Assad.
Besides Michael Nazir-Ali, the delegation included Rev Andrew Ashdown, the Bishop of Winchester's former interfaith adviser, who was the group leader; Baroness Cox, a committed Christian and a crossbench member of the House of Lords; David Clark of Cambridge University; and Raymond Hilton of Parliament's human rights committee.
The Syrian Arab news agency Sana reported from Damascus that during the meeting, al-Assad criticised Western media for "falsifying" events in Syria.
He wanted to clarify the image presented of his country.
He warned of the dangers of rising extremism in the Middle East which he blamed for terrorism in the wider Western world as well.
Sana reported that al-Assad's media adviser Bouthaina Shaaban called on the West to listen directly to the viewpoint of the Syrians and said Syria had been the "cradle of tolerance" between the religions. He claimed the Arab-Israeli conflict was at the root of the problems.
Members of the delegation asked about the chances of those refugees who have fled returning to their homelands and what role countries such as France and Britain could play.
Syria Times reported: "On their part, members of the guest delegation stressed that by visiting Syria and meeting Syrian officials and citizens they will be able to convey the truth about Syria, to correct the wrong image the British government and many Britons have about what is really going on in the country and to explain the huge suffering caused to the Syrians because of terrorism."
Social media carried expressions of concern about the visit.
Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords Baroness Hussein-Ece tweeted:
Sitting down to talks with a mass murderer, barrel bombing & dropping chemical weapons on civilians. Shameful #Syria https://t.co/wLAERJavnE
— Baroness Hussein-Ece (@meralhece) September 5, 2016
Political analyst HA Hellyer tweeted:
But using concerns around Christians, to justify appeasement of Assad, over the bodies of many of their Muslim compatriots? Unconscionable.
— H.A. Hellyer د. إتش (@hahellyer) September 5, 2016
A spokesperson for the Diocese of Winchester said: "Andrew Ashdown retired from his parish position in the Diocese last October and stood down as interfaith adviser shortly afterwards. His personal views do not reflect those of the diocese."
