PM welcomes Syria defection reports

Downing Street has welcomed reports that a Syrian minister has defected from the government of Bashar Assad and joined the rebels.

Deputy oil minister Abdo Husameddine announced in an online video that he was quitting the regime because of the "brutal" crackdown on dissent which has led to thousands of deaths over the past year.

He is the highest-ranking civilian figure to abandon President Assad's administration, following a stream of thousands of defections from the military to join the Free Syrian Army.

In the video posted on YouTube, Mr Husameddine identified himself as a member of the ruling Baath Party who has served in various government positions for 33 years and said he was now "joining the dignified people's revolution".

And he addressed a message to Assad: "You have inflicted on those you claim are your people a full year of sorrow and sadness, denied them their basic rights to life and humanity and pushed the country to the edge of the abyss.

"I do not want to end my life servicing the crimes of this regime."

Prime Minister David Cameron's official spokesman said: "If confirmed, this is an important moment.

"It would be the highest-ranking civilian defection so far and would follow a number of military defections recently.

"We have been very clear that we believe that regime has no legitimacy and we would urge others to step away from the regime and support the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people."