Assad 'has never bombed his people' - spokesperson

The Syrian government has never bombed its own people, President Assad's spokeswoman has claimed.

Dr Bouthaina Shaaban, a political and media adviser to the Syrian leader, tells Today programme presenter Sarah Montague that all claims to the contrary are a "creation of the imagination of the western media".

Western powers, UN officials and human rights groups have long accused the Syrian government of carrying out air strikes, including the use of barrel bombs, against civilians.