Four days ago, CNN were patting themselves on the back for their “remarkable” scoop, gushing over their discovery of a “Syrian prisoner freed from Assad’s forced detention.” The story, breathlessly fronted by the network’s chief international correspondent, Claire Ward, racked up over a million views on YouTube, and CNN was awash with praise for Ward’s incredible reporting. According to CNN, she had unearthed a man who had been left “alone and unaware the Assad regime was no more”…
Unfortunately for CNN, it turns out the “freed prisoner” was actually a “regime torturer” named Salama Mohammad Salama, a first lieutenant in Syrian air force intelligence. According to the fact-checking organisation Verify-Sy, Salama is accused of killing civilians and torturing young men on trumped-up charges. No wonder CNN found him cowering under a blanket. Giving even BBC Verify a run for their money…
Paula Barker, Liverpool Wavertree MP backing Andy Burnham, told Times Radio there wouldn’t be trouble from the markets under Burnham:
“The markets will have to fall in line.”