Former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, offered to help Syria’s late President, Hafez Al-Assad, grooms his son, Bashar, to inherit the presidency, newly-released British documents reveal.

The documents, which I obtained from the UK Cabinet Office through a Freedom of Information request, also disclose that shortly after Bashar assumed power, King Abdullah of Jordan reassured British officials that Bashar had successfully “transformed the atmosphere” around him and “swept aside” old guard figures.

In early 1994, following the death of his elder son, Bassel, Hafez’s initial heir, Hafez began grooming Bashar as his successor. Bassel, a military officer, had been killed in a car accident. Bashar was recalled from the UK, where he had been training as an ophthalmologist. He joined Syria’s military academy and, by 1998, was managing Syria’s military and political presence in Lebanon.

In June 1999, Blair extended an invitation for Bashar to visit the UK “in any capacity he chooses”. The offer was made through Lord Levy, Blair’s personal envoy to the Middle East, during a meeting with Hafez in Damascus.

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In a report to British Foreign Office about the meeting, Basil Stephen Eastwood, the British ambassador to Syria,  noted that Lord Levy conveyed Blair’s invitation for Bashar to visit the UK “on any basis chosen by the Syrian side”, adding that this “could be formal or informal”.

Documents showing how Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair offered to help Syria’s late President, Hafez Al-Assad groom Bashar as presidential heir

In addition to his role as the head of anti-corruption campaign in Syria, Bashar was appointed as chairman of the Syrian Computer Society, which was responsible for dealing with problems of potential computer errors related to the........

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