The Daily Telegraph has corrected an error in an article about Syria, following a letter by Arab Media Watch chairman Sharif Hikmat Nashashibi, and its diplomatic editor has agreed to a meeting with AMW.

Nashashibi emailed the following to the newspaper's letters editor and cc'd diplomatic editor David Blair on 28 October 2008:

"In the first sentence of his article, your diplomatic editor David Blair reports as fact that the US raid into Syria killed 'the head of a Syrian based al-Qaeda network' (US accused of 'terrorist aggression' after Syria raid - 28 October 2008). To readers, this would seem to justify the raid. However, the rest of the British media reported the killing of Abu Ghadiyah for what it is so far: a US claim, one that has yet to be corroborated by evidence. It is imperative that the claims and counter-claims that currently abound not get confused for facts."

The next day, Blair left the following message on Nashashibi's phone:

"Hello Mr Nashashibi, this is David Blair from the Daily Telegraph speaking. Thank you very much for your email. The point you make is entirely valid, and I have amended the web version of my story accordingly. You might have noticed that the print version is entirely different, and did not make the particular claim that you raised. What happened was that the web version was updated by someone unknown to me, who inserted that late at night, so we have corrected that mistake. If you would like to give me a call, my mobile is --------. Thank you for bringing this to my attention."

Nashashibi emailed Blair thanking him for his message and correction, and requested a meeting. Blair agreed to lunch.