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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">How MI6 built Syria\u2019s extremist
police</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Kit Klarenberg</div>
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<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time" dir="ltr">October
16, 2025</div>
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<p>Kit Klarenberg uncovers how MI6 covertly built, funded,
and legitimized extremist groups in Syria, creating the
so-called \u201cFree Syrian Police\u201d and White Helmets as
cover operations for Al-Qaeda\u2019s rise and the West\u2019s
post-Assad agenda.</p>
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<a
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alt="Documents submitted to the UK Foreign Office by ARK - founded by MI6's Alistair Harris - noted the FSP were \u201crevolutionary entities who share a general ideological affinity with the Syrian rebels.\u201d (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)"
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Documents submitted to the UK Foreign Office by
ARK - founded by MI6's Alistair Harris - noted the
FSP were \u201crevolutionary entities who share a
general ideological affinity with the Syrian
rebels.\u201d (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by
Zeinab el-Hajj)
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<p>On <a
href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/speech-by-sir-richard-moore-chief-of-sis-19-september-2025"
moz-do-not-send="true">September 19<sup>th</sup></a>,
in a speech marking the end of his five-year tenure as
MI6 chief, Richard Moore hailed the achievements of
Britain\u2019s foreign spying agency under his watch. Key
among the stated gains was \u201cthe end of 53 years of the
Assads in Syria.\u201d He openly admitted MI6 \u201cforged a
relationship\u201d with HTS, Damascus\u2019 Al-Qaeda and
ISIS-tied presumptive rulers - \u201ca year or two before
they toppled Bashar.\u201d Moore went on to boast:</p>
<p>\u201cSyria is a good example of where, if you can get
ahead of events, it really helps when they suddenly,
unexpectedly move at a faster pace. This nimbleness is
a fundamental requirement for MI6 - and I think we
remain pretty good at it. John Ratcliffe, the CIA
director, while discussing a piece of joint business,
said to me recently: \u2018You guys can really hustle.\u2019\u201d</p>
<p><strong>Al Mayadeen English</strong><em> </em><a
href="https://english.almayadeen.net/articles/opinion/how-mi6-helped-hts-seize-syria"
moz-do-not-send="true">has previously</a> exposed
how HTS was groomed for power for years prior to its
violent palace coup in December 2024 by Inter-Mediate,
an MI6-adjacent consulting firm run by Jonathan
Powell. A key architect of the criminal 2003
Anglo-American Iraq invasion, he now serves as British
Prime Minister Keir Starmer\u2019s national security
adviser, coincidentally taking up the position mere
days before HTS illegitimately proclaimed themselves
Syria\u2019s government. It\u2019s been <a
href="https://www.kitklarenberg.com/p/mi6-embedded-with-syrias-al-qaeda"
moz-do-not-send="true">subsequently revealed</a>
that Inter-Mediate has maintained a dedicated office
in Syria\u2019s Presidential Palace ever since. </p>
<p>Moore\u2019s fresh admissions, while vague, offer further
confirmation that London\u2019s foreign spying agency has a
longstanding relationship with HTS, <a
href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/syria-country-policy-and-information-notes/country-policy-and-information-note-security-situation-syria-july-2025-accessible"
moz-do-not-send="true">which remains</a> a
proscribed terrorist group under British law. A key, <a
href="https://thegrayzone.com/2024/12/26/leaked-files-uk-syria-jolanis-hts/"
moz-do-not-send="true">confirmed mechanism</a> by
which MI6 entrenched HTS\u2019 power in north west Syria
over the years before the extremist group\u2019s seizure of
power was by financing and managing, via cutouts,
\u201cmoderate opposition service provision\u201d. This took the
form of entities including the infamous White Helmets,
which supposedly provided \u201cdemonstrations of a
credible alternative\u201d to Bashar Assad\u2019s government.</p>
<p>While the clandestine efforts were ostensibly
intended to weaken HTS\u2019 hold on power and push
\u201cmoderate\u201d groups, leaked documents indicate British
spooks were well-aware these initiatives were
cementing the group\u2019s credibility as a governance
actor, assisting its \u201cgrowing influence\u201d, and meant
many Syrians regarded HTS as \u201csynonymous with
opposition to Assad.\u201d Eerily, the same documents note
the group and its armed affiliates - including
Al-Qaeda - were \u201cless likely to attack opposition
entities that are receiving support\u201d from British
intelligence, such as the White Helmets.</p>
<p>We are now left to ponder whether British-run
\u201cservice providers\u201d were explicitly left alone <em>because
</em>of MI6\u2019s secret relationship with HTS. In this
context, the earliest and most obvious indication of a
dark alliance between London and Syria\u2019s new rulers
may date back to January 2019, when HTS took power
outright in north west Syria. <a
href="https://syriadirect.org/free-syrian-police-in-northwestern-syria-to-dissolve-amid-hts-takeover/"
moz-do-not-send="true">Almost instantly</a>, the
Free Syrian Police, a British-created \u201cmoderate
opposition service\u201d provider, was formally dissolved.
Its members were then invited to continue their
activities under HTS\u2019 banner.</p>
<h2>\u2018Revolutionary Entities\u2019</h2>
<p>Like the White Helmets, the FSP were components of a
wider effort by London to establish a series of
statelets across occupied Syria, complete with
parallel governance structures staffed by locals
trained and funded by Britain, the EU, and US. Western
propaganda and media reporting - <a
href="https://thecradle.co/articles/handing-out-sweets-how-british-propaganda-steers-and-manages-events-in-west-asia"
moz-do-not-send="true">heavily influenced</a> by MI6
- universally portrayed these breakaway colonies as
\u201cmoderate\u201d success stories. In reality, they were
deeply chaotic and dangerous, run by murderous violent
factions, often under obscenely strict interpretations
of Sharia Law.</p>
<p>In March 2017, the <em>BBC</em> published a <a
href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-39458062"
moz-do-not-send="true">fawning profile</a> of the
FSP, noting its British funding, and claiming the
group \u201cdemonstrates to Syrians that it is not
necessary to carry weapons in order to administer law
and order in the country.\u201d The British state
broadcaster repeatedly stressed, the FSP \u201cdoes not
co-operate with extremist groups.\u201d However, nine
months later, it <a
href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42217132"
moz-do-not-send="true">was revealed</a> that
London\u2019s \u201cmoderate\u201d police force enjoyed intimate
relationships with multiple extremist groups,
including <a
href="https://www.csis.org/programs/former-programs/warfare-irregular-threats-and-terrorism-program-archives/terrorism-backgrounders/hayat-tahrir"
moz-do-not-send="true">HTS forerunner</a> Jabhat
al-Nusra.</p>
<p>Several FSP stations were found to be closely linked
to and take directions from extremist courts run by
these militants, which executed citizens who violated
local extremist legal codes. FSP operatives were also
not only present when women were stoned to death for
disobeying al-Nusra\u2019s extreme codes, but even closed
roads to allow executions to take place. Meanwhile,
portions of sums sent to the FSP by its foreign
sponsors were regularly handed over to extremist
factions for \u201cmilitary and security support\u201d. </p>
<p>While these disclosures caused a scandal, and British
funding for the FSP was temporarily suspended, it <a
href="https://web.archive.org/web/20201127003335/https:/adamsmithinternational.com/news/funding-resumes-for-free-syrian-police/"
moz-do-not-send="true">was reinstated</a> within
mere weeks, <a
href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/feb/20/uk-revives-free-syrian-police-aid-scheme-alleged-payments-syrian-jihadists"
moz-do-not-send="true">sparking outcry</a> among aid
experts. Officials justified their decision on
unstated \u201cmitigating context\u201d to the revelations, and
the issues in question being \u201calready known\u201d by the
Foreign Office. Indeed, leaked documents reviewed by <strong>Al
Mayadeen English</strong> indicate close
collaboration with extremist groups and courts was
hardwired into the FSP from the group\u2019s inception, and
not concealed from donors.</p>
<p>The documents, submitted to the Foreign Office by ARK
- founded by MI6 veteran Alistair Harris - noted the
FSP were \u201crevolutionary entities who share a general
ideological affinity with the Syrian rebels,\u201d
conducting \u201crudimentary policing operations\u201d in
opposition-controlled territory. FSP stations varied
significantly \u201cin terms of their effectiveness, their
mandate and their overall level of organisation\u201d in
the areas comprising their beat. \u201cTheir authority\u201d was
dependent on \u201cseveral factors, the most important of
which\u201d were: </p>
<p>\u201cThe strength of the relationship between an FSP
station and local armed groups; the centrality of an
FSP station in the work of a local rebel court or
other judicial structure; the sophistication and
maturity of an FSP station\u2019s overarching command
structure.\u201d</p>
<h2>\u2018Direct Engagement\u2019</h2>
<p>The leaks further state, \u201cFSP networks enjoy the
strongest relations with more moderate Syrian rebel
groups.\u201d Yet, chief among \u201ckey armed groups that have
established relationships with FSP stations\u201d was Nur
al-Din al-Zinki. The group was said to have greatly
\u201cempowered\u201d FSP offices across occupied Aleppo,
establishing the force \u201cas primary policing bodies in
towns in which it is strong.\u201d In reality, Nur al-Din
al-Zinki didn\u2019t adhere to any meaningful definition of
the term \u201cmoderate\u201d. </p>
<p>During the initial years of the foreign-fomented
Syrian civil war, the group committed countless
horrendous atrocities, <a
href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36843990"
moz-do-not-send="true">including beheading</a> a
Palestinian teenager in 2016. Its fighters <a
href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/syriasource/nour-al-din-al-zenki-movement-how-a-once-moderate-group-joined-fateh-al-sham/"
moz-do-not-send="true">subsequently joined</a> HTS
en masse. The readiness of ARK - and by extension
British intelligence - to rub shoulders with dangerous
armed elements is writ large in another leaked file,
outlining potential risks to the project. If \u201carmed
actors\u201d denied the FSP \u201coperating space\u201d, ARK would
conduct \u201cdirect engagement\u201d with the relevant
militants to resolve the issue.</p>
<p>Other hazards included almost inevitable submission
of \u201cfraudulent invoices\u201d by FSP operatives, and
\u201csignificant physical risk\u201d to them, \u201cincluding
possible assassination of police or justice actors.\u201d
Still, the British were so keen on the project,
millions <a
href="https://www.declassifieduk.org/revealed-the-uk-has-spent-350-million-promoting-regime-change-in-syria/"
moz-do-not-send="true">were pumped</a> into the
force over many years, with sophisticated
communications equipment and vehicles provided. ARK
also looked ahead to rebel groups increasing their
\u201cinfluence and territorial reach\u201d in Syria, believing
this would \u201c[yield] benefits for the FSP\u201d and expand
its sphere of operations.</p>
<p>Fast forward to today, and courtesy of HTS, the
British-created FSP is now Syria\u2019s <a
href="https://www.ispionline.it/en/publication/rebuilding-syrias-security-military-and-police-forces-as-the-u-s-seeks-withdrawal-218388"
moz-do-not-send="true">national police force</a>.
Ever since Assad\u2019s fall, they have acted accordingly,
<a href="https://archive.ph/umr6f"
moz-do-not-send="true">brutally repressing</a>
internal dissent, while standing by as the new
government\u2019s militants <a
href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/08/1165649"
moz-do-not-send="true">massacre</a> Alawites and
other religious minorities in the country. Just as
Inter-Mediate\u2019s office in Damascus\u2019 Presidential
palace raises grave questions about the extent of
London\u2019s control over HTS, we must ask who all past
beneficiaries of \u201cmoderate opposition service
provision\u201d in the country are truly working for.</p>
<p>As <em>The National </em>reported in <a
href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/2025/02/19/a-new-syria-can-be-built-by-the-dedicated-teams-i-have-seen-in-damascus/"
moz-do-not-send="true">February</a>, the White
Helmets have been formally invited by Syria\u2019s HTS-run
Health Ministry to \u201crun the emergency services
countrywide.\u201d The creation of such groups years prior
to Assad\u2019s ouster is a palpable example of the ability
of \u201chustlers\u201d in British intelligence to \u201cget ahead of
events\u201d in Moore\u2019s phrase, and ensure MI6 has the
people, organisations and structures in place to
effectively take over countries if and when an enemy
government falls. </p>
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