Dr Fawaz Akhras

Our article, 'The Acton Spring? How unrest in Syria spilled over into the respectable streets of West London' (4 November 2011) referred to a 'classified 2008 cable from the then-US charge d'affaires to Damascus released by Wikileaks this year'. The cable named Dr Fawaz Akhras as a suspected avenue used by the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "to stash funds abroad'. Dr Akhras is a respected consultant cardiologist who has lived in London for over 35 years. He categorically denies that he has ever held or transferred any funds for or on behalf of President al-Assad. We accept that Dr Akhras should have been given the opportunity to make his position clear before our article was published.