Sir Keir Starmer's new national security adviser is facing demands to disown his wife's social media posts after she promoted the views of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Jonathan Powell, who previously served as Downing Street chief of staff under Tony Blair, is set to take on the role next month. His wife, Sarah Helm, shared a video of al-Assad speaking at a summit and commented, 'This is important. Assad is stepping up to the plate.' In a previous post, Helm accused Israel of pursuing 'ethnic cleansing of Palestinians'. There is no suggestion that Powell shares his wife's views.