Hamish de Bretton-Gordon is a chemical weapons expert and formerly an officer in the British Army commanding the UK's regiment to deal with chemical weapons defence regiment.

Alongside Professor David Nott and Richard Benyon MP, he warns that leaving Syria's fate in the hands of Vladimir Putin and Bashar al Assad threatens millions.

Image: Hamish de Bretton-Gordon is a former British Army commander

Donald Trump has announced the withdrawal of US Forces from Syria as he claimed Islamic State were all but defeated.

Last week, UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced that Assad was here to stay, giving the clear indication that it was now Russia's responsibility to sort Syria out.

There is some confusion as to exactly what the Putin/Assad plan towards this ravaged country is.


But, for the near one million dead, two million seriously injured, 11 million internally displaced, and four million refugees, this appears to be the final nail in the coffin of democracy and the rule of law in Syria.

Image: Assad and Putin appear to be the final nail in the coffin of Syrian democracy

In December 2016, Professor David Nott and I managed to help rescue 500 injured children trapped in Aleppo, and in December 2017, 29 children dying of curable cancer in Ghouta.

These children survived but many have perished in this most cruel of conflicts.

Today Idlib province is the only area not under the Syrian regime's control.

Syria's children are its future and it is they who have suffered the most. Doctors at Syria Relief say around 75% of children in Idlib have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and around 50% are incontinent due to it.

Image: Seventy-five percent of children in Syria have PTSD

The West's failure to intervene to directly support the humanitarian effort is shaming.

True, no British soldiers have died, though two were injured recently, but we have seen regular terror attacks in the UK, up to one million dead in Syria, and the re-emergence of chemical weapons on the battlefield.

There are four million civilians trapped in Idlib, an area similar to the size of the Isle of Wight or Manhattan.

There is an uneasy peace, the weather is terrible and bandits are running riot across the province. They are kidnapping anybody of value especially doctors, and ransoming them for as much as $50,000.

Image: Evidence suggests the Syrian regime is siphoning away aid funds

Too frequently there is no money to pay the ransom resulting in many being killed. These desperate people cannot get out and aid cannot get in; perhaps a perfect breeding ground for the jihadists and return of Islamic State.

Bizarrely the UK Charities Commission have issued guidance that supplying aid to Idlib could be contrary to UK Counter Terrorism laws. Hence aid has ceased to get to those most needy.

The only aid now comes via the UN and the World Health Organisation via Damascus.

There is good evidence to show that up to 75% is siphoned off by the regime and almost nothing has reached Idlib.

Image: Children were hit in suspected chlorine gas attacks

The UOSSM and Syria Relief hospitals supported by David Nott and me, are now fast running out of medicines, and food is becoming scarce.

If we continue to sit on our hands the potential for another humanitarian catastrophe so close to Europe is now almost certain.

Last month there were false accusations of a rebel chemical attack on Russian and Regime forces in Aleppo. This is usually the precursor for a major regime chemical attack.

It is after all chemical weapons that have proved so successful in breaking all sieges hitherto, and this has not gone unnoticed by terrorists and tyrants.

Image: Parliament's vote against intervention gave the Syrian regime the green light

Richard Benyon MP was a witness to the shameful vote in parliament not to intervene in Syria in 2013.

This undoubtedly led to the Obama "red line" on chemical weapon use and the 100-year taboo to be broken.

This has been a green light to every dictator, despot, rogue state, and terror group, to use chemical weapons.

This year David Nott and I have continued to support hospitals in Syria through the David Nott Foundation, Syria Relief and UOSSM.

They train surgeons and first responders in Idlib to provide the bare essential medical care for those unfortunate enough to be left in Idlib.

Image: A flooded camp for displaced people near Idlib

With little hope of getting children out of Idlib they are raising money to support children's medical care in Syria.

As the UN inspectors, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons cannot themselves get to the sites of these attacks, I have re-trained first responders on handling chemical casualties and collecting evidence of the attacks.

Axiomatically, many of the civilians in Idlib actually hope that Assad will use chemical weapons, so at least the US and UK will strike the Syrian regime. To even contemplate such a horrific idea shows the state of utter hopelessness they are in.

There is no prospect of a Western led coalition entering Syria in force to give relief to this tragedy, but there must be the possibility that the UN - with backing from the US, UK and France - could put monitors on the ground in Idlib, perhaps also supported and protected by the Turkish military.

The sole aim of this action would be to ensure aid gets to those who need it and not just the jihadists who are holding Idlib to ransom.

Image: Some civilians in Idlib hope for more attacks to encourage an international response

The British and American governments may be trying to wash their hands of Syria, and it may be a compelling argument to put pressure on Russia to sort out the mess it has helped create.

But with the chemical attack in the UK last year Putin has shown he has no scruples or concerns for civilian collateral damage, and no doubt this will pervade in Syria. Can we really trust him to do the right thing?

Both the US and UK military have invested so much sweat, toil and blood to rid us of Islamic State, but we are now creating the perfect conditions for the rebirth of the so-called Caliphate amongst the misery of Idlib's refugee camps; full as they are of starving, freezing, and sick people.

Before we say it is all too difficult we need to look into the eyes of so many of Idlib's children and ask ourselves if we have done enough.

:: Hamish de Bretton-Gordon and Sir Stephen O'Brien will present a seminar on this issue and humanitarian support at Emmanuel College Cambridge at 5.15 - 7pm on Wed 23 Jan 19