UN investigator says Syrian rebels used Sarin gas

In an interview with Swiss-Italian TV on Sunday, Ms Del Ponte, who serves on the UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, said: "Our investigators have been in neighbouring countries interviewing victims, doctors and field hospitals.

"According to their report of last week, which I have seen, there are strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof of the use of sarin gas, from the way the victims were treated."

Carla Del Ponte said testimony from victims and doctors had given rise to "strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof" that the rebels had used Sarin.

 This is all very disappointing for those who have been busy trying to push the USA and UK into war with Syria.  It also raises the question as to who supplied the rebels with the gas and why they did it.

It was interesting to see how the British media treated the story.

The BBC web site put and kept the story on its front page but revised the story substantially over today in a obvious attempt to cast doubt on Ms Del Ponte's comments.  The BBC has been accepting rebel statements as gospel and publishing them without any clear attempt to verify them. Proper journalistic standards have been abandoned when it comes to presenting the rebel case but all of a sudden the BBC's critical facilities have been restored when it comes to rubbishing an inconvenient truth. Was there a call from Number 10 to the state controlled media?

The Telegraph also had the story on its front page this morning. By the evening it had been cut and moved to an inside page and placed alongside a story about British tourists in Italy being overcharged for ice cream.

The Guardian web site never had the story at all. Not important enough for you, chaps?

 Humbert Wolfe said

You cannot hope to bribe or twist, thank God! the British journalist. 

But, seeing what the man will do unbribed, there's no occasion to.

Unfortunately, the first line is not true.