a pleasant surprise from the BBC

[Thomas Eckhardt]

Here is the transcript of an interview given by Jonathan Steele (former 
Senior Middle East Correspondent for the Guardian) to the BBC World Service 
(with link to the original broadcast):

'Jonathan Steele: “I was in Brussels last week … I attended a briefing
  by a whistleblower from the Organisation for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons. He was one of the inspectors who was sent out to Douma
  in Syria in April last year to check into the allegations by the rebels
  that Syrian aeroplanes had dropped two canisters of chlorine gas,
killing up to 43 people. He claims he was in charge of picking up the
samples in the affected areas, and in neutral areas, to check whether
there were chlorine derivatives there …
Paul Henley: And?
JS: … and he found that there was no difference. So it rather
suggested there was no chemical gas attack, because in the buildings
where the people allegedly died there was no extra chlorinated organic
chemicals than in the normal streets elsewhere. And I put this to the
OPCW for comment, and they haven’t yet replied. But it rather suggests
that a lot of this was propaganda…
PH: Propaganda led by?
JS: … led by the rebel side to try and bring in American planes,
which in fact did happen. American, British and French planes bombed
Damascus a few days after these reports. And actually this is the second
  whistle blower to come forward. A few months ago there was a leaked
report by the person who looked into the ballistics, as to whether these
  cylinders had been dropped by planes, looking at the damage of the
building and the damage on the side of the cylinders. And he decided,
concluded, that the higher probability was that these cylinders were
placed on the ground, rather than from planes.
PH: This would be a major revelation…
JS: … it would be a major revelation …
PH: … given the number of people rubbishing the idea that these could have 
been fake videos at the time.
JS: Well, these two scientists, I think they’re non-political – they
wouldn’t have been sent to Douma, if they’d had strong political views,
by the OPCW. They want to speak to the Conference of the Member States
in November, next month, and give their views, and be allowed to come
forward publicly with their concerns. Because they’ve tried to raise
them internally and been – they say they’ve been – suppressed, their
views have been suppressed."'

https://timhayward.wordpress.com/2019/10/27/major-revelation-from-opcw-whistleblower-jonathan-steele-speaking-to-the-bbc/