The prime minister says the UK is not considering whether to unban the organisation that has taken power of Syria despite cabinet minister Pat McFadden suggesting the decision could be swift. During a visit to Saudi Arabia, Sir Keir Starmer says there is "no decision pending at all" on whether to remove Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from the list of proscribed terrorist organisations, adding it is "far too early". Report by Blairm. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
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00:00The situation is obviously very volatile in Syria.
00:04It is very good that Assad is gone,
00:06but it doesn't necessarily mean that what follows
00:09is settled by any means at all.
00:11It is really important we talk to our regional allies,
00:14our global allies, about the way forward,
00:16which has to be a political way forward.
00:19And that does mean, to answer your question,
00:21a rejection of terrorism, a rejection of violence.
00:23So we have to be really clear about the terms.
00:25Very early days, but they're the discussions
00:28that we're having with our allies.
00:29No decision is pending at all on this.
00:33It is far too early.
00:35At the moment, the focus has to be on talking to our allies,
00:40making sure that this is an opportunity for Syria,
00:43and therefore we have to work to make sure
00:45that it's a peaceful opportunity.
00:48Talking to our allies,
00:49making sure the civilians are protected,
00:51making sure the minorities are protected,
00:53and being absolutely clear in that red line
00:55in relation to terrorism and violence.
00:58So we mustn't get ahead of ourselves here
01:00in terms of what happens next,
01:03but the focus at the moment has to be on making sure
01:06this is a turning point for the good.
01:08We've all seen in other parts of history
01:11how where we think there's a turning point,
01:12it turns out not necessarily to be the better future
01:15that we hoped for.
01:16We've got to make sure this is different.
01:18That means working with allies to that end.
01:20And actually, I think there's a common view emerging
01:22that this must be seen as an opportunity.
01:25No tears being shed for Assad.
01:27That's for sure.
01:29But we need to make sure that it is a peaceful transition now
01:33and make sure that civilians are protected,
01:35minorities are protected in this.
01:37And that's why we're having intense discussions
01:39with allies in the region,
01:40but actually more globally, of course.