By James Simons-
Syrian extremists were benefiting from U.K tax payers money, a BBC Panorama programme has revealed.
The U.K government has suspended a foreign aid project following the Panorama investigation which found taxpayers’ cash being diverted to extremists in Syria.
Officers from a UK-backed police force in Syria have also been working with courts carrying out brutal sentences. The diversion was undertaking by criminals without the knowledge of the British government, sparking shock and alarm following the incredible leak.
The Free Syrian Police (FSP) was set up in the wake of the uprising in Syria, intended to bring law and order to parts of the country controlled by opposition forces. Britain was one of six donor countries paying for the project, which provides community policing to the rebel-held areas of Aleppo, Idlib and Daraa provinces.
The area is intended to be an unarmed civilian police force, operating legally, but what was discovered was the opposite.
Police were found cooperating with courts carrying out summary executions – including a case where two women were stoned to death
Police were also being paid in cash, then forced to hand over funds to an extremist group controlling the area. Extremist groups in the area were also revealed to be handpicking police officers, whom they believed would work best with them in a co-operative fashion.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson announced in April that the UK would commit a further £4 million to the UK-funded Access to Justice and Community Security (AJACS) scheme that supports the FSP. That figure is a huge sum capable of causing disaster if a sizeable proportion were to end up in the hands of terrorists.
ASI has challenged the claims revealed in the Panorama programme, saying that the FSP is an unarmed community police force that
brings the rule of law and safety to millions of people in a war-torn country.
An ASI spokesman said it “strongly refutes Panorama’s allegations”.
“We have managed taxpayers’ money effectively to confront terrorism, bring security to Syrian communities and mitigate the considerable risks of operating in a war zone,” he said.
“ASI has managed the project successfully alongside our partner in an extremely challenging, high-risk environment under the close supervision of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and five other governments.”
The company says it uses cash to fund the police because there is no practical alternative – and that the British government is aware of the payments.