THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Syrian ambassador to Britain has been invited to the Royal wedding in a move which threatens to exacerbate an ongoing row over the guest list.Labour MPs said it “bordered on the grotesque” for Sami Khiyami to attend the event when the former Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown had been excluded.
The Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad has been threatened with prosecution for alleged war crimes linked to the deaths of an estimated 450 pro-democracy protesters during marches in recent weeks.
Dr Khiyami’s presence at the ceremony will come despite him being given a formal diplomatic warning yesterday by the most senior official at the Foreign Office for his government’s crackdown on its people, which has included the use of tanks.
Denis MacShane, the former Minister for Europe, said: “Rolling out the red carpet for petty tyrants who back home chop off people’s arms and hands, or, in the case of Syria, send tanks to crush peaceful protests, is bordering on the grotesque.”
Michael Dugher, a shadow Defence Minister, said: “It seems odd that two former Prime Ministers are excluded but we have some quite dubious people being invited. » | Andy Bloxham | Thursday, April 28, 2011
