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Mayday: 1. On the Ledge

鈥淭he story sounds like a purely English murder.鈥 The rumour mill starts over who or what killed James.

鈥淭he story sounds like a purely English murder.鈥 The rumour mill starts over who or what killed James Le Mesurier.

When he fell to his death in Turkey in 2019 James Le Mesurier left behind a tangle of truths and lies. Mayday tells the extraordinary real story of the man who organised the White Helmets 鈥 rescuers who film themselves pulling survivors from bombed out buildings in rebel-held areas of Syria 鈥 and investigates claims that, far from being heroes, they are part of a very elaborate hoax. James Le Mesurier 鈥 his detractors say 鈥 was a British secret agent, pulling the strings. So when his body was found by worshippers on their way to morning prayers, there were a lot questions.

Produced, written and presented by: Chloe Hadjimatheou
Editor: Emma Rippon
Researcher: Tom Wright
Mixed by: Neil Churchill
Arabic translation and additional research: Vanessa Bowles, Abdul Kader Habak
Turkish researcher: Nevin Sungur
Narrative Consultant: John Yorke
Original music: Nick Mundy and Bu Kolthoum
Production Coordinator - Gemma Ashman

REFERENCES:

Wedding video provided by Emma Le Mesurier

Report of the death of James Le Mesurier - 麻豆约拍 Outside Source , 11 November 2019

鈥淚nvestigation into death of White Helmets co-founder鈥 - CBC News: The National, 11 November 2019, from 鈥淣ew York Al Jazeera鈥 footage

鈥淛ames Le Mesurier: Brit who helped found White Helmets discovered dead in Istanbul鈥 - ITV News, 11 November 2019

鈥淢ysterious death of White Helmets co-founder spotlights toxic propaganda鈥 鈥 PBS NewsHour

鈥淏randpunt - Witte helmen鈥 (Focal point - Season 1 - White helmets) - KRO-NCRV, 08 Nov 2016. Reporter Piet De Blaauw

鈥溞⌒夹笛褌褜 袛卸械泄屑褋邪 谢械 袦械蟹褞褉褜械: 芯薪 褋谢懈褕泻芯屑 屑薪芯谐芯 蟹薪邪谢 - 袪芯褋褋懈褟 24鈥 (The death of James le Mesurier: he knew too much) - Russia 24 Russia 24, 17 Nov 2019

鈥溫辟冑娯 - 賲丐爻爻 "丕賱禺賵匕 丕賱亘賷囟丕亍" 丕賱廿乇賴丕亘賷丞 賲賯鬲賵賱丕賸 賮賷 丕爻胤賳亘賵賱 鈥(Turkey - founder of the terrorist "White Helmets" was killed in Istanbul) Syrian Channel 鈥 News, 11 November 2019

鈥淎ssad on deaths of Epstein, White Helmets' founder, bin Laden & al-Baghdadi鈥 RT News, 16 Nov 2019

鈥淓ski 陌ngiliz istihbarat subay谋 neden 枚ld眉? Uzman isim yorumlad谋鈥 (Why did the former British intelligence officer die? Expert name commented) - CNN T眉rk

鈥淲hite Helmets Co-founder Dies: Interview with Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, Le Mesurier鈥檚 friend鈥 - TRT World Now, 12 Nov 2019

鈥淗amish de Bretton-Gordon: James Le Mesurier A 'Special Kind Of Person'鈥 12 November 2019 - forces.net

鈥淢ysterious death of White Helmets co-founder spotlights toxic propaganda鈥 - PBS NewsHour, 24 Dec 2019

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