Intrigue

In a secret location in a European city is an archive that contains over a million documents. It’s run by a tough-talking Canadian, Bill Wiley, who set up an evidence-gathering organisation funded by Western governments. Using undercover criminal investigators operating inside a war zone, the Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA) has spent the last eight years extracting official documents from Syria. Wiley says that evidence will prove that the Assad regime has been responsible for a campaign of torture and murder against its own people. CIJA's documents are being used right now in a criminal case in the West to prosecute members of the Syrian regime. But there are those who would discredit the evidence and the people who gather it. These include a group of respected academics here in the UK who are accused of spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories about the war, twisting the narrative so that the Syrian regime becomes the victim and the British government bears responsibility for war crimes. It is a new kind of warfare being fought not on the ground but on the internet. Who will win? Writer, producer and presenter Chloe Hadjimatheou Editor Emma Rippon Researchers Orla O’Brien and Lara Al Gibaly Executive producer Maggie Latham Sound design and mix Neil Churchill Mark Fleischman played the role of Prof Paul McKeigue and the role of Ivan Commissioner for Radio 4 Richard Knight Correction: We stated that Feras Fayyad won an Oscar - instead his films were nominated on two occasions for an Oscar but did not win.

The Evidence Gatherers, a new episode of Mayday coming soon, available from 6 April.

“The crime scene had been left unguarded for two weeks”. What really happened in the Douma massacre? This episode is a diversion from the story of the life and death of James Le Mesurier. It’s about one of the most contested events in the war - the chemical attack in the town of Douma in 2018. Unravelling what really happened there takes us to the heart of the global race to control the narrative of the Syrian war. Mayday tells the extraordinary real story of the man who organised the White Helmets – rescuers who film themselves pulling survivors from bombed out buildings in rebel-held areas of Syria – and investigates claims that, far from being heroes, they are part of a very elaborate hoax. James Le Mesurier – his detractors say – was a British secret agent, pulling the strings. So when his body was found by worshippers on their way to morning prayers, there were a lot questions. This episode contains a description of the aftermath of a chemical attack. This episode has been edited since original publication following a complaint. https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/ecu/mayday-the-canister-on-the-bed-radio-4-20-november-2020 Produced, written and presented by Chloe Hadjimatheou Editor: Emma Rippon Researcher: Tom Wright Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman Sound Design and Mixing by Neil Churchill With additional mixing by Graham Puddifoot and Gareth Jones Arabic translation and additional research: Vanessa Bowles, Abdul Kader Habak Turkish Researcher: Nevin Sungur Narrative Consultant: John Yorke Original music: Nick Mundy Final track Zamilou by Bu Kolthoum

“They will be targeted for the rest of their lives.” Where does that leave everyone else? When James Le Mesurier fell to his death in Turkey in 2019 he left behind a tangle of truths and lies. Mayday tells the extraordinary real story of the man who organised the White Helmets – rescuers who film themselves pulling survivors from bombed out buildings in rebel-held areas of Syria – and investigates claims that, far from being heroes, they are part of a very elaborate hoax. James Le Mesurier – his detractors say – was a British secret agent, pulling the strings. So when his body was found by worshippers on their way to morning prayers, there were a lot questions. Produced, written and presented by: Chloe Hadjimatheou Editor: Emma Rippon Researcher: Tom Wright Mixed by: Neil Churchill Arabic translation and additional research: Vanessa Bowles, Abdul Kader Habak Turkish researcher: Nevin Sungur Narrative Consultant: John Yorke Original music: Nick Mundy and Bu Kolthoum Production Coordinator - Gemma Ashman REFERENCES “Statement by Amb.Nebenzia on addressing the issue of linkages between terrorism and organized crime” RussiaUN YouTube channel, 07 August 2020 “UK in Syria- Creating A Dystopian Shadow State Ft Vanessa Beeley on British Constitution Group” ICIT Digital Library, 02 May 2017 Vanessa Beeley Twitter posts @VanessaBeeley

“My love it’s 10 times worse than we thought.” Things start to unravel. When James Le Mesurier fell to his death in Turkey in 2019 he left behind a tangle of truths and lies. Mayday tells the extraordinary real story of the man who organised the White Helmets – rescuers who film themselves pulling survivors from bombed out buildings in rebel-held areas of Syria – and investigates claims that, far from being heroes, they are part of a very elaborate hoax. James Le Mesurier – his detractors say – was a British secret agent, pulling the strings. So when his body was found by worshippers on their way to morning prayers, there were a lot questions. Produced, written and presented by: Chloe Hadjimatheou Editor: Emma Rippon Researcher: Tom Wright Mixed by: Neil Churchill Arabic translation and additional research: Vanessa Bowles, Abdul Kader Habak Turkish researcher: Nevin Sungur Narrative Consultant: John Yorke Original music: Nick Mundy and Bu Kolthoum Production Coordinator - Gemma Ashman REFERENCES Various Newspaper headlines Express Tribune Pakistan: Founder of Syrian 'White Helmets' found dead in Istanbul 12/11/2019 The Scotsman British army officer and founder of Syria volunteers found dead by Margaret Neighbour 11/11/2019 Daily Sabah, Istanbul Officials reveal White Helmets founder's cause of death 20/11/2019 “Entrevista exclusiva com James Le Mesurier no CIBE BRAZIL 2017 – Bombeiros” (“Exclusive interview with James Le Mesurier at CIBE BRAZIL 2017 – Firefighters”) CBMGO YouTube channel, 26 September 2017 “Is Le Mesurier an Epstein?” - Fault Lines, Sputnik International, 12 November 2019 Brandpunt - Witte helmen” (Focal point - Season 1 - White helmets) - KRO-NCRV, 08 Nov 2016. Reporter Piet de Blaauw

“I had to do it because my colleagues faced death.” Now the rescuers need saving. When James Le Mesurier fell to his death in Turkey in 2019 he left behind a tangle of truths and lies. Mayday tells the extraordinary real story of the man who organised the White Helmets – rescuers who film themselves pulling survivors from bombed out buildings in rebel-held areas of Syria – and investigates claims that, far from being heroes, they are part of a very elaborate hoax. James Le Mesurier – his detractors say – was a British secret agent, pulling the strings. So when his body was found by worshippers on their way to morning prayers, there were a lot questions. Produced, written and presented by: Chloe Hadjimatheou Editor: Emma Rippon Researcher: Tom Wright Mixed by: Neil Churchill Arabic translation and additional research: Vanessa Bowles, Abdul Kader Habak Turkish researcher: Nevin Sungur Narrative Consultant: John Yorke Original music: Nick Mundy and Bu Kolthoum Production Coordinator - Gemma Ashman REFERENCES * Abdulhadi video – Syria’s White Helmets: Mask of Terror report. Anna News Agency Documentary, January 5th, 2017 Uploaded to Daily Motion by Sayed Hasan ARCHIVE TRUMP WITHDRAWAL: Press conference April 3rd 2018 – Source Reuters via The Washington Post website

“ I have these epiphanies all the time, especially if I had anchovies on my pizza..” Could the White Helmets be involved in staging chemical attacks? When James Le Mesurier fell to his death in Turkey in 2019 he left behind a tangle of truths and lies. Mayday tells the extraordinary real story of the man who organised the White Helmets – rescuers who film themselves pulling survivors from bombed out buildings in rebel-held areas of Syria – and investigates claims that, far from being heroes, they are part of a very elaborate hoax. James Le Mesurier – his detractors say – was a British secret agent, pulling the strings. So when his body was found by worshippers on their way to morning prayers, there were a lot questions. Produced, written and presented by: Chloe Hadjimatheou Editor: Emma Rippon Researcher: Tom Wright Mixed by: Neil Churchill Arabic translation and additional research: Vanessa Bowles, Abdul Kader Habak Turkish researcher: Nevin Sungur Narrative Consultant: John Yorke Original music: Nick Mundy and Bu Kolthoum Production Coordinator - Gemma Ashman REFERENCES “Roger Waters - Reporting The Truth” Roger Waters YouTube channel, 6 December 2019 “Briefing by Chief of Main Operational Directorate of Russian General Staff Sergei Rudskoy” Минобороны России (Ministry of Defense of Russia) YouTube channel 17 March 2018 “Voices of people hiding in a basement in #EasternGhouta while #Assad regime & #Russia forces shell the area. Trying to destroy #Syria & kills its people or make them succumb to starvation & tyranny.” Dima Moussa @dimam78 Tweet 04 March 2018 Syria Gas Attack Victims Treated at Hospital, Syria Civil Defence video “Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov - BBC HARDtalk rushes” - BBC HARDtalk exclusive, 17 April 2018 برومو رجل الثورة Revolution Man promotional video, 10 February 2018 - Movie Produced by the Syrian ministry of culture “Gasping for life: Syria's merciless war on its own children” CNN كونتاك الحلقة 23 Panet46 (Contac Episode 23 Panet46) dailymotion - Shoof Drama شوف دراما “Ethics Forum: Paul McKeigue (Edinburgh Usher Institute)” 25 January 2019 video from Jamie Smith on 12 February 2019, published on the University of Edinburgh website “UN: Chlorine was placed in Douma by militants for provocative purposes –Russia's OPCW rep. Shulgin” 20 January 2020, Ruptly YouTube Channel (Ruptly is part of the same media family as RT) credit: UNIFEED-UNTV

“I went to meet with Assad to see what kind of access we might get.” James is accused of a horrific crime. When James Le Mesurier fell to his death in Turkey in 2019 he left behind a tangle of truths and lies. Mayday tells the extraordinary real story of the man who organised the White Helmets – rescuers who film themselves pulling survivors from bombed out buildings in rebel-held areas of Syria – and investigates claims that, far from being heroes, they are part of a very elaborate hoax. James Le Mesurier – his detractors say – was a British secret agent, pulling the strings. So when his body was found by worshippers on their way to morning prayers, there were a lot questions. AMENDMENT: Sean Penn has confirmed that it was Eva Bartlett not Vanessa Beeley he met in Los Angeles. This does not change the story materially. Produced, written and presented by: Chloe Hadjimatheou Editor: Emma Rippon Researcher: Tom Wright Mixed by: Neil Churchill Arabic translation and additional research: Vanessa Bowles, Abdul Kader Habak Turkish researcher: Nevin Sungur Narrative Consultant: John Yorke Original music: Nick Mundy and Bu Kolthoum Production Coordinator - Gemma Ashman REFERENCES “’The White Helmets” wins Best Documentary Short.” Oscars YouTube Channel, 03 April 2017 “President Bashar al-Assad's opinion on White Helmet's Oscar” from Egy Ember YouTube channel, 11 Mar 2017, source listed as Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) “KEEP TALKING - Vanessa Beeley on The White Helmets & the billionaires funding Regime Change” Ian Fantom YouTube channel, 17 July 2019 “Vanessa Beeley -The tale of the White Helmets in the Western media, on the ground in Syria and beyond” Mot Dag TV, 13 February 2019 “Panel Discussion on White Helmets Organization in Syria” UN Audiovisual Library video, 20 December 2018 “UK Column News” Brian Gerrish, Mike Robinson are joined by Alex Thomson and Vanessa Beeley for today's UK Column News. 14th October 2020 “Interview with Vanessa Beeley” HPU Al-Hawash Private University, 21 November 2018

“He hadn’t really understood that he would be singled out.” How to tell who the jihadists are. When James Le Mesurier fell to his death in Turkey in 2019 he left behind a tangle of truths and lies. Mayday tells the extraordinary real story of the man who organised the White Helmets – rescuers who film themselves pulling survivors from bombed out buildings in rebel-held areas of Syria – and investigates claims that, far from being heroes, they are part of a very elaborate hoax. James Le Mesurier – his detractors say – was a British secret agent, pulling the strings. So when his body was found by worshippers on their way to morning prayers, there were a lot questions. Produced, written and presented by: Chloe Hadjimatheou Editor: Emma Rippon Researcher: Tom Wright Mixed by: Neil Churchill Arabic translation and additional research: Vanessa Bowles, Abdul Kader Habak Turkish researcher: Nevin Sungur Narrative Consultant: John Yorke Original music: Nick Mundy and Bu Kolthoum Production Coordinator - Gemma Ashman REFERENCES BBC Monitoring copy of HTS video “WHITE HELMETS NEXT DOOR TO NUSRA FRONT IN ALEPPO” - Vanessa Beeley’s YouTube channel, 04 May 2017 “WHITE HELMETS, THIEVES, HELPED NUSRA FRONT IN TORTURE CHAMBERS” - Vanessa Beeley’s YouTube channel, 03 May 2017 “Excerpt: Focus” - KRO-NCRV, 04 November 2016 “Syria’s White Helmets Caught on Camera during Militants ’ Execution” Alwaght News & Analysis - 20 May 2017 BBC Monitoring copy of HTS video Messages from Omar, from HTS. “Canada's Dirty War Against Syria With Q&A Ft Vanessa Beeley” ICIT Digital Library copy of Crescent International video, 28 Jan 2020 “Vanessa Beeley gets destroyed on Assad's "anti-imperialism"!” Rev 2011 YouTube channel, 30 Jun 2017 - Video from a talk given in Birmingham, UK by Vanessa Beeley titled "The Liberation of Aleppo". Tweets by Vanessa Beeley “Dr. Jaafari thanked honest independent journalists during an interview w/ Carla Ortiz in NY 7/28/17” - Sarah Abed’s YouTube channel, 28 Jul 2017 “WHITE HELMETS NEXT DOOR TO NUSRA FRONT IN ALEPPO” - Vanessa Beeley’s YouTube channel, 04 May 2017 “EXPOSED: Inside the WHITE HELMETS headquarters in Aleppo (Syria)” – Aramaic Heritage YouTube channel – film by Carla Ortiz “Syria's White Helmets: The Mask of Terror” - Sayed Hasan. Anna News Documentary, Daily Motion, 05 January 2017 “ABOUT SAYDNAYA” Amnesty International “Realities in Palestine and Syria Ft Vanessa Beeley” - ICIT Digital Library, 17 Apr 2017 “Canadian journo totally crushes MSM reporter on what’s actually going on in Syria” – In the NOW Facebook videi, 13 December 2016 ARCHIVE CLIP Russian pres UN:...We have interviewed more than 100 witnesses. More than 40 members are there White Helmets 15 former fighters from illegal armed groups where the White Helmets operated. In the NOW Facebook video “’Independent Canadian journalist explains what actually is goin...’ ‘Canadian journo totally crushes MSM reporter on what’s actually going on in Syria,’ 13 December 2016 “Panel Discussion on White Helmets Organization in Syria” - UN Audiovisual Library video, 20 December 2018

“There’s something addictive about uncovering the world as it really is.” The allegations begin. When James Le Mesurier fell to his death in Turkey in 2019 he left behind a tangle of truths and lies. Mayday tells the extraordinary real story of the man who organised the White Helmets – rescuers who film themselves pulling survivors from bombed out buildings in rebel-held areas of Syria – and investigates claims that, far from being heroes, they are part of a very elaborate hoax. James Le Mesurier – his detractors say – was a British secret agent, pulling the strings. So when his body was found by worshippers on their way to morning prayers, there were a lot questions. Produced, written and presented by: Chloe Hadjimatheou Editor: Emma Rippon Researcher: Tom Wright Mixed by: Neil Churchill Arabic translation and additional research: Vanessa Bowles, Abdul Kader Habak Turkish researcher: Nevin Sungur Narrative Consultant: John Yorke Original music: Nick Mundy and Bu Kolthoum Production Coordinator - Gemma Ashman REFERENCES “MARK DEVLIN WITH NICK KOLLERSTROM ON THE PAUL McCARTNEY REPLACEMENT, LONDON, FEBRUARY 2019” - Mark Devlin YouTube channel, 5 April 2019, video of a lecture hosted by “Keep Talking,” filmed and edited by Alan Bariffi “KEEP TALKING - Vanessa Beeley on The White Helmets & the billionaires funding Regime Change” - Ian Fantom YouTube channel, 17 Jul 2019 “Is Le Mesurier an Epstein?” - Fault Lines, Sputnik International, 12 November 2019 “Child Rescued From Airstrike Rubble in Aleppo” - Wall Street Journal, footage originally from Aleppo Media Center, 18 Aug 2016 Kate Baldwin CNN News Report about Omran - CNN, 18 August 2016 “تلبيسة 10-10-2016 طفلة مصابة تنادي والدها” (“An injured child calls out to her father”) “talbisa h” YouTube channel “Bashar al-Assad speaks to Swiss television” from “swissinfo.ch” – film of an interview with Swiss public television, SRF, In an interview with Swiss public television, SRF, aired 20 Oct 2016 “Is Le Mesurier an Epstein?” - Fault Lines, Sputnik International, 12 November 2019 “Operation Pillar of Defense Day 7; Gaza press building under an Israeli air strike” – Reuters – published on Haaretz הארץ YouTube channel, 20 Nov 2012 The Wall Will Fall – Vanessa Beeley’s blog “Palestine : Conference Laurent Louis Dieudonne Marion Sigaut Jacob Cohen Samir Belgium United” - Belgium United YouTube Channel - audio and video editing: Samir Prod Y2J for: Belgium United and MetaTv Belgium “US Peace Council on Syria (Arab/Eng) مجلس السلام الأمريكي على سوريا Ft Vanessa Beeley on Syrian TV” - ICIT Digital Library “White Helmets' black record: 'Real Syrian civil defence groups describe them as terrorists'” – RT “White Helmets' bizarre ‘mannequin challenge’ in Syrian warzone” – RT “'WTF White Helmets': Bizarre ‘mannequin challenge’ in Syrian warzone (VIDEO)” - RT “UK in Syria- Creating A Dystopian Shadow State Ft Vanessa Beeley on British Constitution Group” - ICIT Digital Library “Bashar al-Assad speaks to Swiss television” from “swissinfo.ch” – film of an interview with Swiss public television, SRF, In an interview with Swiss public television, SRF, aired 20 Oct 2016 BBC Monitoring copy of HTS video