“The appalling crackdown that we witnessed in Hama and other Syrian cities on 30 and 31 July only erode the regime's legitimacy and increase resentment. In the absence of an end to the senseless violence and a genuine process of political reform, we will continue to pursue further EU sanctions.”

British politician and life peer, born 1961

William Hague, Baron Hague of Richmond, is a British politician and life peer. Born in 1961, he was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2001, and later served as Deputy Leader from 2005 to 2010. He represented Richmond in North Yorkshire in Parliament from 1989 to 2015. In government, he was Foreign Secretary from 2010 to 2014, First Secretary of State from 2010 to 2015, and Leader of the House of Commons from 2014 to 2015. He has been Chancellor of the University of Oxford since February 2025.