Thread by @Tracking_Power

@Brian_Whit @elenaevdokimov7 @nikita_thierry @RenieriArts @Malinka1102 @PiersRobinson1 @MichaKobs @VanessaBeeley 1. Lamani as UN Special Envoy was investigating the alleged chemical attack on the Syrian army in Khan-al-Assal on 16 March 2013. Russia, UK and US agree that this was a sarin attack.

@Brian_Whit @elenaevdokimov7 @nikita_thierry @RenieriArts @Malinka1102 @PiersRobinson1 @MichaKobs @VanessaBeeley 2. Malbrunot and Chesno quote Lamani as follows: 'A rebel group allowed chemical substances in through the border post of Azaz. An insurgent opened the products, which immediately provoked spasms. He died the next day...'

@Brian_Whit @elenaevdokimov7 @nikita_thierry @RenieriArts @Malinka1102 @PiersRobinson1 @MichaKobs @VanessaBeeley 3. '...Informed of the incident, the Nusra Front immediately surrounded the village and demanded the return of the products in question, under threat of an all-out attack. The jihadists recovered the products.'

@Brian_Whit @elenaevdokimov7 @nikita_thierry @RenieriArts @Malinka1102 @PiersRobinson1 @MichaKobs @VanessaBeeley 4. Lamani states that he confirmed this story with the leader of the rebel group, which would have been the Northern Storm Brigade, noted mainly for smuggling and kidnapping.

@Brian_Whit @elenaevdokimov7 @nikita_thierry @RenieriArts @Malinka1102 @PiersRobinson1 @MichaKobs @VanessaBeeley 5. If this account is accurate, the chemical was almost certainly a nerve agent. There is no direct evidence it was sarin, but no one has suggested that any other nerve agent was used in Syria.

@Brian_Whit @elenaevdokimov7 @nikita_thierry @RenieriArts @Malinka1102 @PiersRobinson1 @MichaKobs @VanessaBeeley 6. We have established that these findings were reported to the UN' Secretary-General. This may be the 'UN report' that Hersh tells us was referred to in the DIA briefing dated 20 June 2013 from which he is seen reading in an interview here:

@Brian_Whit @elenaevdokimov7 @nikita_thierry @RenieriArts @Malinka1102 @PiersRobinson1 @MichaKobs @VanessaBeeley 7. So if the UNSG and the DIA knew of Lamani's report, we could reasonably expect that UK intelligence agencies would know also. This would imply that they misled the House of Commons on 21 August 2013.

@Brian_Whit @elenaevdokimov7 @nikita_thierry @RenieriArts @Malinka1102 @PiersRobinson1 @MichaKobs @VanessaBeeley 8. The Russians reported that their analysis of the sarin from the
Khan-al-Assal attack had shown it was 'home-made',
'cottage industry', and 'not synthesized in an industrial environment.
Here: rusemb.org.uk/foreignpolicy/…

@Brian_Whit @elenaevdokimov7 @nikita_thierry @RenieriArts @Malinka1102 @PiersRobinson1 @MichaKobs @VanessaBeeley 9. Here: webtv.un.org/watch/vitaly-i…
and here:
embrussia.ru/node/279

@Brian_Whit @elenaevdokimov7 @nikita_thierry @RenieriArts @Malinka1102 @PiersRobinson1 @MichaKobs @VanessaBeeley 10. In the UK, Porton Down was reported also to have samples from Khan-al-Assal.
thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/de…

@Brian_Whit @elenaevdokimov7 @nikita_thierry @RenieriArts @Malinka1102 @PiersRobinson1 @MichaKobs @VanessaBeeley 11. The Russians provided a detailed report with mass spectrometry profiles to the other four P5 members (including the UK).

@Brian_Whit @elenaevdokimov7 @nikita_thierry @RenieriArts @Malinka1102 @PiersRobinson1 @MichaKobs @VanessaBeeley 12. We can assume that the UK's copy was passed to Porton Down for evaluation. So if the Russians had been wrong, Porton Down with analyses of samples from the same incident, could easily have rebutted them.

@Brian_Whit @elenaevdokimov7 @nikita_thierry @RenieriArts @Malinka1102 @PiersRobinson1 @MichaKobs @VanessaBeeley 13. It is relevant here that Professor Igor Rybalchenko, head of the Russian lab, and Dr Robin Black, then head of the detection lab at Porton Down, had a long-standing professional relationship and were together on an OPCW scientific advisory panel at around this time.

@Brian_Whit @elenaevdokimov7 @nikita_thierry @RenieriArts @Malinka1102 @PiersRobinson1 @MichaKobs @VanessaBeeley 14. Finally we note that even Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, MI6's man on the ground, conceded that: 'The Khan al-Assal attack is different to the others, as it could be concluded that the Opposition is responsible.'
brown-moses.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/respon…

@Brian_Whit @elenaevdokimov7 @nikita_thierry @RenieriArts @Malinka1102 @PiersRobinson1 @MichaKobs @VanessaBeeley 15. We are of course delighted to note that you, Brian are now trying
to engage with the evidence that we present instead of smearing us as
'propagandists'.