Anna Wintour 'disowns' Asma Assad

Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue, has disowned Bashar al-Assad's wife Asma in the wake of a highly complimentay article the magazine ran last year. The 3200-word profile, which was published in March 2011, carried the headline "A Rose in the Desert" and described the British-born Mrs Assad as "the freshest and most magnetic of first ladies." It went on to describe her walking "a determined swath cut through space with a flash of red soles," which was a reference to her Christian Louboutin heels. According to the New York Times the article was part of a public relations offensive launched by the Assad regime, which included paying a US public relations firm $5000 (£3200) a month for acting as a point of liaison between Vogue and Mrs Assad. The article was removed from Vogue's website in the spring. At the weekend, in response to the New York Times, the magazine's chief issued a statement condemning the Assad regime. "Like many at that time, we were hopeful that the Assad regime would be open to a more progressive society," she said. "Subsequent to our interview, as the terrible events of the past year and a half unfolded in Syria, it became clear that its priorities and values were completely at odds with those of Vogue. "The escalating atrocities in Syria are unconscionable and we deplore the actions of the Assad regime in the strongest possible terms." The move came a week after US journalist Barbara Walters said she "regretted" trying to help Sheherazad Jaafari, the Syrian leader's press aide, to get a job at CNN and a place at Columbia University. Jaafari had also been an intern at the public relations firm that liaised with Vogue on behalf of Mrs Assad.