Ex-Syrian diplomat reveals Assad 'planned chemical weapons attack last summer'

A former Syrian ambassador to the UK has said President Bashar al-Assad was planning to use chemical weapons last summer.

The former high-ranking Syrian diplomat, who defected saying his conscience could not allow him to continue representing the regime, has emerged from hiding to give his first interview to Sky News.

Khaled al Ayoubi was Assad's most senior figure in Britain and was at the heart of discussions between Britain and Syria over its use of chemical weapons.

After resigning at the Syrian embassy in July 2012, al Ayoubi said he had been granted protection by the UK's Foreign Office in return for information about the Syrian regime.

According to the report, since then he said he received death threats from members of Assad's secret intelligence service and had been forced to live at a secret location, the report said.

He said that the Foreign Office provided him and his wife and two children with a safe house outside London, the report said.

He revealed how the Foreign Office knew last year that chemical weapons in Syria existed and that the regime assured authorities they would not be used against civilians.

He said he believed Assad was planning a chemical attack last summer but a crucial intervention by the British government may have prevented it, the report added.