RIFAAT AL-ASSAD IN LONDON

That this House is concerned at reports in the national press that Mr Rifaat al-Assad is living in central London; notes that Mr al-Assad is known to have commanded the Syrian forces that attacked the city of Hama in February 1982, instructing them to shell the city and kill tens of thousands of its inhabitants, resulting in the Hama massacre, which caused him to be known by survivors as the Butcher of Hama; further notes that American journalist Mr Friedman alleges in the book, From Beirut to Jerusalem that Mr al-Assad later said that the number of victims was `no less than 38,000'; and therefore calls on the Government urgently to consider whether Mr Rifaat al-Assad should be investigated and to inform the House of the steps it plans to take.