Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is widely seen in the West as a monster and a butcher with blood on his hands.

But Dr Tim Anderson says this description doesn't gel with the man he met on a visit to Syria in 2013.

To the contrary, Dr Anderson describes Assad as a 'mild mannered eye doctor,' concerned about the impact of the war on Syrian civilians.

He argues that the war in Syria 'has relied on a level of mass disinformation not seen in living memory'.